Assassin
by SplatterCracker
Summary: Every year, Collège Françoise Dupont holds a school-wide game of Assassin, with each year offering a variety of prizes. This year, however, Gabriel Agreste himself has chosen to sponsor the school's game and as a result, not only does prizes include cash prizes, but also a date with Adrien for the grand winner! Can Marinette beat the odds and win her dream date? [Reveal Fic / S1]
1. The Game

**A small note for those who are unfamiliar with boba/tapioca drinks (aka bubble tea): They're (usually) milk tea with sweet chewy balls about the size of a small marble. 10/10 would recommend trying some**

* * *

"Alright class, as you may know, this week is the first day of our school's annual Assassin's Week," Ms. Bustier announced with a smile. "As most of you all know, this is a school tradition here, as a reward for the week of testing that we just had. Since we've had some transfer students this school year, I'll explain the rules from the beginning."

"The basics of this game is that every student in this school will receive two items, a piece of paper with your target's name and picture on it, and a boba straw. Your straw will be your weapon; do not lose it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with boba straws, they're commonly used in tapioca drinks and are larger than usual straws in order to suck up the tapioca balls."

"Once a target is poked with one of these straws, the target is 'dead' and is out of the game. When you kill your target, your target's target becomes your new target. A person can only receive a target of their own grade level, so you don't have to worry about hunting down someone from a different grade. Because of this grade separation, there will be four finalists from each grade level by the end of the week. They will have their own round to determine the school's winner for this year."

"However, there are rules to this game. You cannot kill anyone other than your current target. You cannot kill anyone during active class times, period. We've had a problem with that the first year so don't even think about it. Of course, normal school rules will still apply so any illegal methods will not only disqualify you but also you will also face consequences. A student from one year broke into their target's house once and explaining to the police that it was a game didn't really help them out in any way. Please use common sense. Are there any questions?"

Max raised his hand. "What are the prizes for this year?"

Ms. Bustier smiled. "This year's game is sponsored by Gabriel Agreste, the famous fashion designer as well as the father of Adrien here. Finalists will receive a cash prize and an opportunity to do an upcoming photoshoot with Adrien, and the final winner will have a choice between a large cash bonus or a date with Adrien."

Murmurs immediately broke out.

"A d-date?" Marinette squeaked, the same time she received an excited sharp nudge in the ribs from Alya.

"Although it is a date in name, there will be a photographer following the winner and Adrien, if the winner chooses this option. It'll be a casual photoshoot of sorts, you see. Now that I've explained all the rules, I'll be giving each of you your targets now," Ms. Bustier said, holding up a small black bag in one hand. In her other hand was a clear plastic bag, full of straws which she handed to Nino. "Meanwhile, take one straw and pass it on, there should be exactly enough for the class. Let me know if you happen to get yourself as a target."

"Ten bucks says I die on the first day again," Nino joked as he passed the bag of straws back. Alya laughed.

"'Again'? You died on the first day last year or something?" she asked, picking out a straw of her own before passing the bag to Marinette.

"This girl in another class was waiting for me as I exited class that day. Dude, I didn't even get a chance to see my target before she got me. She was ruthless, man," said Nino, shaking his head.

"Maybe you're just bad at the game," Alya teased. "Bet you'll die before me."

"You're on," Nino replied with a grin.

"This game doesn't sound too hard," Adrien commented. He turned his straw in his hand, studying it curiously. "You just touch someone with a straw and avoid being touched, right?"

"That's what I thought the first time, too," said Nino. "But man, can it get brutal. Friends turn on friends and all that. I survived until Wednesday the first week only for one of my closest friends at the time to stab me in the back. Literally."

Alya and Marinette glanced at each other. They grinned sheepishly. Alya was the first to hold out her hand to the other girl.

"We'll tell each other if we get each other as a target, deal?"

Marinette shook it. "Deal."

"Hey, I want in on this too," Nino said.

"Butt out, girls only."

"Boo."

"Marinette?" Ms. Bustier stood next to her, holding out a folded slip of paper. "Your target."

"Ah, thanks," Marinette said, taking the paper. She didn't open it yet; she knew from previous years that there was always someone waiting to catch a glimpse at your target.

"And Alya," Ms. Bustier said, handing the paper to the other girl, who took it with a smile.

"Who'd you get?" Nino asked as he took his own paper from the teacher. Like Marinette, he hadn't opened his own paper yet. Adrien and Alya, however, immediately unfolded their slips of paper behind the coverings of their hands before folding them once again.

Alya pulled a face. "Not someone in our class. How about you guys?"

"Uh…" Nino turned. Taking his paper to his lap, he gave a quick look. Then he did a double-take before turning once again. This time, however, his face was a careful poker face. "Not you."

"...I don't know if I can believe that. What about you, Adrien?"

"Someone?"

Alya sighed exasperatedly. "Really? I would never have guessed."

"It's not you or Marinette," Adrien clarified. Then, as an afterthought, "or Nino."

"Oh good, I don't have a worry about a friend backstabbing me this year."

"I might just stab you myself later on," Alya joked. "What about you, Marinette?"

"I got…" Marinette pulled her paper up close, lowering her head to partially shield it. Unfolding it just enough to see the name and picture, she only took a fleeting glimpse before folding it once again and straightening up.

"Oh," she said, in mild surprise.

"'Oh'?" Alya echoed, suddenly wary.

"It's not you," Marinette said quickly. Alya smiled in relief.

"Good. I don't want to die the same way Nino did."

"Dude, I made it to _Wednesday_ that year. That's pretty good, you know," Nino protested.

Alya rolled her eyes.

"Did you get someone in our class?" Adrien asked curiously. Marinette fidgeted under his gaze.

"U-Um…maybe?"

"My god, _Marinette's_ going to stab me in the back this year."

"Oh shush, the chances of her getting you is low. It's only the first day," said Alya.

"Did you get one of us?" Adrien asked.

"Uh…" She blushed. Looking down at her hands, she set her mouth in a thin line, determined not to say anything more. Alya laughed.

"Adrien, she can't answer if _you're_ the one asking her."

"What? Why not?"

"Try not looking at her and ask again," Nino suggested. "Or wear a mask."

Adrien only looked more confused at this. "Why?"

"Because you're denser than a rock," Alya said bluntly, much to Marinette's chagrin, before scooting closer to the girl. Throwing her arm around her friend's shoulder, Alya leaned in close with a grin. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

"That sounds wrong," Nino deadpanned.

"Oh shush. Anyways, wanna do it?"

"That also sounds wrong."

"Nino, I swear I will introduce your head to your desk if you don't shush."

Nino held up his hands with a grin. "Shushing."

"So?"

"Sure…" Marinette fumbled with her paper a bit, only to be stopped by Alya.

"Hang on, I'll go first. It was my idea anyway. Here." Unfolding the slip of paper with one hand, she quickly flashed the contents to the girl. Like Alya said, it wasn't anyone from their class. He looked somewhat familiar to Marinette, probably shared a class at some point or something.

"Do you know him?" Alya asked. Marinette shook her head.

"Sorry, I don't," Marinette said apologetically. Alya shrugged.

"No reason to apologize. So how about you? Who'd you get?"

Wordlessly, she pulled out her own slip of paper. Partly shielding it with her hand, she unfolded it just halfway for a brief moment, but that moment was all Alya needed.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **THIS IS ON HOLD UNTIL I FINISH AT LEAST ONE OF MY OTHER MIRACULOUS FICS FIRST. Luckily, one is nearing completion. I also don't really know where I'm going with this story, I finally figured out that my writer's block started because I thought of this story idea and didn't write it so here's this lol**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	2. Monday

Alya was _still_ grinning from ear to ear by the time class ended.

As soon as the girl saw who exactly Marinette received for her first target, she'd laughed until class officially started, causing more than a few people to eye the girl warily as they subtly scooted away. Adrien and Nino, of course, had also moved away, but being seated directly in front of the girls, they could only move no more than an inch closer to the edges of their seats. It didn't help that Ms. Bustier ended class a minute late and already, they could see the edges of other students' shoes just around the corner of the doors, undoubtedly waiting for some certain people.

The games had begun.

"It was nice knowing you all," Nino said solemnly, making a mock salute at Adrien. He was already out of his seat, his back to the blackboard, unwilling to let either the class or doors out of his sight. He held his boba straw in one hand.

"Aren't you taking this a bit too seriously?" Adrien asked, packing his bag.

"Adrien, dude, you don't understand. Those exams last week? Those were nothing. _These_ are the tests. It's killed or be killed," Nino said seriously. "Just wait until the screaming starts."

"What screaming—?"

"YOUR TIME HAS COME, KIM—DAMMIT." The shout from just outside the ended abruptly in curses as Kim bolted away from his new assassin, a loud whoop escaping his mouth. As if on cue, screams erupted from throughout the school, some followed by hysterical laughter while others ended in more curses and groans.

A few of their faster classmates made a run for it out the doors, one of them being Ivan carrying Mylene in his arms, a sight that was enough to distract a couple of the ambushers enough for a few more classmates to escape.

"Should we run for it...?" Alya asked worriedly, trying to peer out one of the doors. Nino copied her, jumping as a particularly loud scream rang out from nearby.

Marinette shrugged. She was somewhat confident about her skills, being Ladybug and all, but she couldn't tell them that. Besides, she would rather Alya survive past the first day at least. As she glanced over at Adrien, she was surprised to see that he too didn't appear worried in the least and was instead calmly staring at the door, as if debating when was the best time to stroll out. Then again, it shouldn't have come too much of a surprise. His dad was the one sponsoring the gifts and the most that he would get would probably be a slightly bigger allowance for the week. It wasn't like he could go on a date with himself after all.

"Nino, we can leave together if you want," Adrien offered. Nino narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously.

"You're not my assassin, are you?"

"If I were, do you really think you can run from me?"

"I think I can outrun a model. Maybe."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Nino, let's go."

"What, not going to offer us protection too?" Alya joked, slinging her arm around Marinette. "We're here too, you know. How rude."

Adrien smiled apologetically the same time that Nino shook his head firmly.

"Nope. You guys were waaaay too suspicious earlier. I dunno who you two got but I ain't sticking around to find out."

"Aw, don't be like that. What if I die the first day?"

"Alya, knowing you, you'll probably survive until the _last_ day. Don't think I haven't seen you play dodgeball."

She laughed. "What can I say, you gotta be fast to be a reporter on Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Nino harrumphed at that. "Yeah, well, let me know if you're still alive by tonight. See you tomorrow. C'mon, Adrien."

Adrien grinned. "So you trust me?"

"Let's go before I change my mind."

"Sure. See you tomorrow, Alya, Marinette." Adrien gave a small wave with his boba straw at them as Nino tugged him toward the door. After giving the coast a careful check, they bolted. Alya frowned.

"Well, there goes your target."

"There's tomorrow," Marinette said, smiling. Alya shook her head.

"You're too nice. I would have stuck it in his back the second class ended. Like Nino said, it's killed or be killed. Shall we g— _Marinette_!" Alya yelped, yanking Marinette towards her, onto the bench of their desks and dragging her to the other side. Marinette twisted, catching a glimpse of Sabrina raising her straw for another attack. Chloe stood in the corner of the classroom, watching with a large grin on her face.

"Move, move, _move_ ," Alya yelled, dragging Marinette onto her feet and out the door. They nearly ran straight into another boy who was running past their room, screaming, with a girl brandishing her boba straw, hot on his heels. Luckily, there were no ambushers left waiting for them at their door, although there was one waiting by the back door to their classrooms. The girl, who Marinette recognized as someone who was in her art class one, gave them a brief smile before continuing to keep watch on the remaining students in the room. As they all but flew down the stairs, Marinette noticed that they weren't the only ones running. She craned her head and realized for the first time that there was someone chasing them, a boy from their grade who she had seen a handful of times before. She vaguely recalled his name as Jean, a quiet brown-haired boy who was in the class next to theirs.

"Alya, _run_! Someone's chasing us!" She screamed, laughing. Horrified, Alya whipped her head around to look at their pursuer before run faster, putting on an extra burst of speed. Marinette easily kept up, dodging various other students running for the school's doors. By the time they were a block away from school, they had lost him.

They began to slow down to a jog, both trying to catch their breaths. However, before Alya came to a full stop, she took off running again without warning and Marinette watched as she nearly ran into a small group of students halfway down the block in front of them who had also just escaped from the building. She heard a distant " _Die!_ " from Alya followed by a dramatic scream and an eruption of laughter. After picking up her new target, Alya returned, beaming.

"First kill!" she said proudly to Marinette as she got closer. She gave Marinette a high-five.

Marinette laughed. "I'm surprised you recognized him from so far away."

"Well, I actually wasn't sure. But hey, it did turn out to be him so it worked out in the end," Alya replied, grinning.

"You _weren't sure_?" Marinette echoed in disbelief.

"I mean, he was kinda far away."

"You scared the poop out of that boy without being sure it was your target first?" Marinette gave her a poke in fake disapproval. " _Alya_."

"To be fair, he should have been checking to see if anyone was chasing him even outside of the building. Speaking of, we should probably go before my assassin sees me. I don't plan on killing only one person. I gotta kill a lot more people before my time comes."

"Annnnd that's why context is always important in quotes," Marinette replied, laughing. They began walking towards her family's bakery.

"Who knows, maybe I am a serial killer and just never told you." Alya winked.

"Please, you wouldn't be able to resist reporting on all of your own crimes if you were one."

"True. A story like that can't go unreported. Oh, by the way, I have a new target now." Alya pulled out a small folded slip of paper, nearly identical to her original one. She unfolded it.

"Who'd you get?" Marinette asked curiously, peering over Alya's hand.

"Who...?"

"You don't know her either, huh?" Alya sighed. "I was hoping to get someone from our class. Or at least someone we actually knew."

"What, so you can scare the poop out of them too?"

"Imagine if I got Chloe," Alya sniggered. "Now _that_ would be fun."

"Anyone is fine as long as you don't get Sabrina. I'd rather not have to run from you as soon as you finish Sabrina off."

"Hey, we promised to tell each other if one of us got the other. So at least you'd get a warning beforehand," Alya said. "But I guess during the second half of the week there would be a lot fewer people so it'll be easier to guess who got who. Not that it's hard to get at least a little information right now. I'll have you know that I, the great and resourceful Alya, has already made several connections across our grade," she boasted.

Marinette smiled. "Connections? Aren't targets changing a little too fast to keep up with properly right now?"

"Never hurts to make connections early," Alya replied easily, pushing open the door to the bakery. She took a deep, appreciative breath. "Did I ever tell you how much I love the smell of your place?"

"Only every time you come here," Marinette said, giggling. "I'm home!"

"Welcome home!" Her dad stuck his head out from the back room, a small stack of trays in his hands. His smile widened when he saw Alya. "Alya's here too?"

"Hey, Mr. Dupain. How have you been?" Alya greeted.

"Oh, the usual. Are you two going up?" Tom asked, setting the trays down on the counter. "Want me to bring snacks?"

"Yeah, we're just going to hang out for a bit. We'll get some snacks ourselves, don't worry. Where's mom?"

"Out. She just left to pick something up. How was school?"

"Great. It's a war zone right now," Alya replied cheerfully. Tom paused.

"Huh?"

"It's a game," Marinette explained quickly.

"A game?"

"Yeah, we're hunting people down," Alya said as they walked past. She paused at the base of the stairs. "Well, more like one person at a time."

"Alya, stop making my dad think we're killing each other and go up already," Marinette said, shaking her head.

"I mean, we're _pretending_ to kill each other."

" _Alya_."

Alya laughed, hurrying up the stairs as Marinette made to jab her in the back. On the way to her room, Marinette grabbed a plate of croissants as Alya headed up first. By the time that Marinette got up to her room, Alya was already comfortably seated cross-legged on her sofa. Alya looked up from her phone as Marinette entered, a grin on her face.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"Sabrina's out," Alya said, taking a croissant from the plate.

"What? Already?" Marinette asked in surprise. "By who?"

Alya shrugged. "Chloe didn't say on her post. By the way, that girl had already posted a ridiculous amount of selfies since school ended. But yeah, Sabrina's out. It happened recently apparently too. Didn't even make it to the second day, and now you have a new assassin."

"Wonderful," Marinette said dryly, settling into her usual pink chair. She nibbled on the corner of her own croissant.

"Don't worry, you got me remember? I wouldn't let anyone else hurt you," Alya said, grinning. "I'll even give you a headstart if I somehow get you."

Marinette giggled. "It should be me saying that. I'm faster than you, remember?"

"Nuh-uh. Bet I could outrun you any day of the week."

"Nah."

"Wanna bet?" Alya challenged, uncrossing her legs.

"Alya, we _just_ sat down."

"First around the block and back wins."

"How do you even have the energy to run after school?" Marinette asked, exasperated as she set down her half-eaten croissant and stood up.

"Cause I'm Alya. Duh. Ready?" Alya made her way to the trapdoor, opening it. By the time that Marinette got there, the girl was already at the bottom of the ladder.

"No."

"Great! The race starts as soon as we leave the bakery," Alya said happily as Marinette hopped onto the floor next to her.

"Is there a prize?"

"Only the greatest prize of all—being the faster friend!" she replied. "C'mon, hurry up!"

Marinette rolled her eyes but complied. Within seconds, they were both out the door.


	3. Tuesday

"Are you alive?"

"Good morning to you too, Nino," Alya said, rolling her eyes as she walked into the classroom. She paused. "Wow, people really _are_ here early."

Marinette giggled, poking her friend in the back. "I told you. Now get out of my way so I can come in too."

Alya stuck out her tongue but moved. Despite it being a good half hour before school started, half of the class was already in the room, all of whom had their bodies turned towards the doors, deceptively relaxed with their boba straws either lightly gripped in their hands or elsewhere nearby, although those whose table partners had already arrived also kept a wary eye on the person sitting next to them. Nino had even done an awkward turn in his seat, doing his best to keep both of the girls behind him in his sight as well as the nearest door. Luckily, neither Chloe nor Sabrina had arrived yet.

Since before Marinette started her first game of assassin at the school, arriving at school early had become somewhat of a well-established strategy for the games. It gave people time to run to their classrooms without the usual morning crowd. For the bolder students, it was a chance to scout the perfect place to lie in wait for an ambush, given that they knew their target's schedule. It was also a good indicator of who was still alive. Those who strolled into school at the usual time were usually already out so they had no one to fear.

To Marinette's disappointment, Adrien's seat was still empty. He wasn't out already, was he?

"Morning Alya, Marinette," Alix grinned at them from across the room. She sat on the very edge of her seat, her head propped up on her elbows. Her eyes flickered between them and Max who sat behind her.

"Hey Alix. You're still alive?" Alya greeted with a grin of her own.

"Uh-huh. Stayed alive until Wednesday last year. Trying to break that record. I'm surprised you're still alive though. Isn't this your first year?"

Alya laughed. "Please, it'll take a lot to get _me_ out of the game so fast. Besides, I got Marinette teaching me how things work. Wouldn't have even thought about coming in early if it weren't for her."

Alix nodded. "Yeah, Marinette's good at this game. You know she's the one who got me out the first year, right?"

Marinette grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that." Alix waved the apology aside.

"No worries. I'm just happy I got to get Chloe out that year. That's probably the most satisfying thing _ever_. By the way Alya, who'd you have for your target?"

"My target? Just some g—" Marinette firmly clamped her hand over Alya's mouth.

"Nooo. The fewer who know who you have, the better," Marinette said disapprovingly. Alix grinned.

"Can't blame me for trying," the girl said, shrugging. Nino pouted.

"Man, I wanted to know too. It's not me is it?"

Alya pried Marinette's hand off her mouth. "Nino, I swear on all that is good, I _do not_ have you as my target. Chill."

"What would you define as good?"

Alya threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine. I swear on the _Ladyblog_ that you aren't my target. Happy now?"

He grinned, his posture relaxing slightly. "Much better."

"Can't believe I had to swear on the Ladyblog for you to trust me," Alya muttered. "Where's Adrien, anyways? Is he out?"

"Nah. I told him to arrive early but the dude brushed it off and said that he'll be fine or something. Apparently, he values sleep more than his life. Which is relatable, but still. I dunno if he's gonna make it here alive. I'm gonna check on him," Nino said, scratching his head. He reached into his pocket before frowning and leaning down to pick up his bag.

Alya elbowed Marinette.

Before Nino could even fully straighten up again with his phone in hand, Marinette stabbed him between his shoulder blades with her straw, causing the boy to yelp and jump slightly as he instinctively reached back to touch where she'd poked him. He whipped around, his eyes wide.

"Did you just—"

Alya broke out in laughter, high-fiving a smiling Marinette. Behind them, a few other students had also erupted into laughter.

" _Marinette_?"

"You will be forever remembered, Nino," Marinette said solemnly. She held that face for another second before giggling.

"You stabbed me in the back?! Literally!" Nino said in disbelief. "I thought we were friends!"

"Hey, she spared you yesterday. If it was up to me, I would have just stabbed you in the back right then and there. It's kill or be killed," Alya laughed. "Now cough up your target."

Nino grumbled, but reached into his pocket and pulled out a small folded slip of paper. He handed it to Marinette. She took the piece of paper and like the first day, she slouched over and partially hid the paper from view with her free hand. With her other hand, she unfolded the paper briefly, just enough to see the contents before closing it again.

Alya looked at her expectantly.

"So?"

Marinette shook her head. She pulled out her phone, Alya doing the same.

 _Anyone from our class?_ Alya texted.

 _I wish. It's this girl from the class next to us. I think I'll have to ambush her._ Marinette made a face at the thought. She wasn't really good at ambushing.

"Hey Nino, is this your original target?" Alya asked curiously.

Nino snorted. "Of course not. I didn't spend the _whole_ first day being paranoid. I took down my first target on the way out the building. He didn't even see me coming."

"You didn't see him either. I pointed him out to you," Adrien said, lightly jogging into the classroom as he threw a glance over his shoulder. He slipped into his seat, smiling.

"Morning Alya. Marinette." He gave a nod to each of them. Marinette ducked her head down, mumbling a greeting of her own.

"Hey, I would have gotten him one way or another. Probably," Nino said frowning. "You okay?"

Adrien grinned. "Got chased on the way here."

"Same girl?"

He shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching up. "Different. Guy this time. My assassin must have changed. How about you? Did you figure out who's after you yet?"

Nino made a face. "Ask the traitors behind you."

"Huh?"

His friend jerked his head at the girls and Adrien turned, confused. Alya laughed.

"You missed the show. He's just mad cause Marinette literally stabbed him in the back a minute ago."

"I thought we were _friends_ , Marinette," Nino complained.

Adrien turned, eyes wide. "You got Nino out? Really?"

Marinette blushed. "Y-Yeah."

He laughed. "Is that who you had yesterday? That explains a lot. Why didn't you just get him yesterday?"

She felt her cheeks color. "I, u-um, didn't feel like it?"

"Marinette's too nice," Alya said, shaking her head. "She felt bad killing Nino on the first day after his tragic story about last year."

"Small mercies," Adrien chuckled. "So I'm guessing you're still in the game, Alya?"

"You bet. I'm not going down that fast," Alya replied easily. "And, no offense, but I'm surprised you're still alive. Didn't think that you'd make it to today."

Adrien shrugged. "I'm quick on my feet."

"Still. You seem pretty relaxed compared to most people playing. Confident of your skills?"

Adrien grinned. "You can say that."

"Why'd you come so early, anyway?" Nino asked, glancing at the clock. "We still got like, what, twenty minutes before class. Thought you said you're not gonna bother coming in early?"

"Changed my mind," Adrien replied with a smile. "But I'm surprised you all got here so fast. I don't think I've ever seen Marinette arrive so early before."

"I-I don't always arrive late," Marinette replied, looking away. The tips of her ears were a bright red, she was certain of it. It was at times like these that she wished she never wore her hair up; it was much harder to hide your face with your hair tied up.

Alya laughed. "Yeah. You only arrive late half of the time. The other half is you arriving just as the bell rings. Girl, I love you but you gotta get your time management under control.

Marinette frowned. "I'm not late _half_ the time. Just...sometimes."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say," Alya said humorously. She glanced at the clock. "Hey, you think I got enough time to look for my target? Since we're here early anyway."

"Who's your target?" Nino piped up. Alya narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

Nino scoffed. "I do have some loyalty to my friends, unlike you two."

"Can I see?" Adrien asked curiously.

"Sure. As soon as you're dead." Alya replied, tossing the paper slip to Nino. The boy easily caught it and, similar to how Marinette looked at her own paper, took a fleeting glance before folding it up again and passing it back to Alya. He shook his head.

"I pity the girl. She's a nice person, y'know. Doesn't deserve to die this way."

"You know her?" Alya asked in surprise. Nino shrugged.

"Kinda. Had a class with her last year. She's in the classroom further down the hall."

Alya eyes lit up. If Nino had really paid attention, he would have noticed a shining gleam of unhidden mischief. "Really?"

"Yeah. Great group member too. Never waited until the last minute, kept us all on track…"

"Great!" Alya stood up, a cheerful smile on her face. "You're going to help me kill her!"

"I'm going to wha—hey!" Nino yelped as Alya tugged him up and towards the door, a boba straw in her hand. "Al, hang on, what if your assassin's out—"

"Please, I'm Alya. No one can take me down that easy. Besides, that's for me to worry about. We're gonna kill someone today," Alya declared, dragging the poor boy out the door. Adrien stared after them. Marinette, already used to Alya's sometimes spontaneous behavior, barely even found her friend's impulsive leave even remotely surprising.

"How is she still alive in this game?" Adrien asked, almost incredulously. Although he hadn't known Alya any longer than Marinette had, the girl still sometimes took him by surprise. There was a thin line between recklessness and courage and Adrien wasn't always sure which side Alya was on.

"I, uh, dunno?" Marinette muttered, looking down at her hands. Adrien turned to face her. She noticed that despite his relaxed posture, he held his straw loosely in one hand and kept the doors in his sight.

He smiled. "You're still in the game, right? Did you really stab Nino in the back?"

She flushed. "I-It's not as bad as it sounds! I just...poked him in the back? Kinda."

Adrien grinned. "I wish I was here to see that."

"Y-Yeah…"

"How was yesterday after we left, anyway? Sorry we didn't leave with you guys," Adrien added apologetically. "We were sure that you two would be fine on your own but…"

Marinette quickly shook her head. "N-No, I'm—it's fine! I understand. We got, um, chased, but we escaped. Alya got her target too…"

"Who was it?"

She shrugged. "I, um, don't really know him…"

"Well, I'm glad you two made it home safe. Don't tell him I told you this, but Nino was a little worried that one of you would die the first day," Adrien chuckled.

She frowned. "But I always survive longer than him."

"Yeah, but he thought that Alya would drag you both down. Since she's sometimes impulse and all."

"I...can't deny that," she said slowly. Then she grimaced. "She wanted to race outside as soon as we got to my house. We were lucky most students ran home already."

"Did you win?" Adrien asked curiously.

"I—No," Marinette admitted.

Adrien raised his eyebrows. "Really? I always thought you were pretty athletic."

She quickly shook her head. "N-No…"

"I see…" His hand suddenly tightened around his straw and for a brief moment, Marinette panicked, thinking that he was going to attack her, but realized that he was looking past over her shoulder. She turned to see Nathaniel approaching timidly, his arms hugging his sketchbook close to his body with his boba straw nowhere in sight. She tensed a bit, her grip slightly tightening around her own straw.

"Hey Nathaniel," she greeted. The artist ducked his head, his bangs falling to partially cover his eyes. He mumbled something too low for either Adrien or Marinette to hear.

Marinette tilted her head. "Sorry, what?"

"Ivan and I need another pair to peer review our project for Ms. Bustier...I was wondering if you and Alya are done…?"

"Oh, the paper? Yeah, we're done. We haven't printed it yet though since it's due next Friday. I can print a copy of ours at lunch and then we can swap if you want?" Marinette offered. Nathaniel nodded gratefully.

"T-Thanks."

"No problem." She smiled. "Where's your straw, by the way? Are you out already?"

He made a face. "I'm...not very good at Assassin."

"Oh…" Now that she thought about it, Marinette did remember Nathaniel dying pretty early on in the game the past two years. She'd actually watched him die the first year they played the game. His assassin that year, Jean, simply strolled up to the artist and tapped him on the shoulder with the straw. The class teased him for a good week after that.

"Sorry…"

He shook his head. "It's not your fault. Should I meet you at the library during lunch…?"

"Ah, sure. We can go together when lunch starts if you want?"

He nodded, a small jerky movement.

"Okay, I'll see you then." She smiled brightly at him, causing him to flush once again as he muttered a thanks and hurried back to his seat.

"Are you and Alya done already?" Adrien asked in surprise. "I didn't think any other group was done so early since it's a month long project. Most groups just wait until the last week to start."

"Y-Yeah… Alya needed an excuse to stay in the library for a Ladybug stakeout last week so we just worked on it together…" Adrien perked up.

"Did Ladybug ever show up?" he asked curiously.

Marinette shook her head. "It was just a rumor. I mean, I tried telling Alya that but she was really, really determined…"

"Sounds like Alya," Adrien said, grinning. "Do you want to swap projects to review tomorrow then? Since we need two groups to review. Nino and I are almost done, we just have to look at it one last time. We can all go to my house tomorrow after school."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

He nodded. "I was supposed to have a shoot, but the photographer had to cancel and father just postponed the shoot. I'll just let Natalie know that some friends are coming over for a group project."

"What about your dad? Will he mind?" Marinette wondered, the words leaving her lips before she could stop them. She nearly comically held her hands to her mouth as soon as she realized what she'd said. Nearly everyone in the class had heard of why Nino had gotten akumatized.

Adrien's smile didn't falter, although she noticed a tightening at the corner of his eyes.

"Father won't mind."

"O-Oh. Okay." She changed topics. "I, uh, wonder how many students are left?"

He shrugged. "Most people are still in the game. It's only been a day."

"I guess…" She trailed off, unsure of what to say next. It was then that Ms. Bustier strolled in, looking a little frazzled with her bag clutched to her chest in an almost protective way. Most of the students who were there chirped a greeting to her, to which she smiled and greeted back.

"I see many of you are here early today," she said, nodding in approval. "I take it that most of you survived?"

"I'm dead!" Rose said happily from the back. She'd just walked in herself and had just sat down in her normal seat, her pink notebook already open in front of her. "But my assassin was soooooo nice! She said that her little sister has a contagious viral upper respiratory tract infection and was cheering her on and that her one wish to get better is to see my assassin win the game so of course I let her poke me! Isn't it just sad?"

"Ah, um, yes. Rose, do you know what a contagious viral upper respiratory tract infection is?" Ms. Bustier asked politely. Rose shook her head.

"Nope! But she said that her sister has to stay home because of it! Isn't that just awful?"

"I—Yes, yes. Of course," their teacher shook her head. "Rose, would you mind helping me pass these papers out while we wait until everyone shows up?"

"Yes, Ms. Bustier!"

* * *

"She used me as bait," Nino complained the second the lunch bell rang. He shoved his books into his bag. At the same time, Alya, Marinette, and Adrien each pulled out their boba straws. "Her target was already inside and she had me lure her out! I felt like a monster luring her out like that; she trusted me, man. She _trusted_ me."

"I'll apologize to her again for you after this," Alya said, rolling her eyes as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"I can't believe you actually got her," Adrien remarked. Marinette couldn't help but silently agree. Both Nino and Alya had barely made it back to the classroom on time; for the minutes leading up to the bell signaling the start of school, she was worried that Alya had gotten caught in a chase with her assassin until Alya triumphantly walked in at the last second with the biggest smile on her face.

"Oh, I just had to get Nino to help. That took the most time, honestly," Alya replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"I saw _betrayal_ in her eyes."

"Oh shush. She laughed and said it was fine. You ready, Marinette?" she asked. She had already taken a step towards the door. "I can show you my new target too! Nino doesn't know her but thanks to my incredible network of friends, I already have her whole schedule so I want to try ambushing her at lunch before she realizes I'm her new assassin. Wanna see if I can take her down by the end of the day…?" Alya trailed off, her eyes suddenly wary as she looked past Marinette.

Marinette turned, automatically reaching for her straw. She relaxed as she saw that it was only Nathaniel slowly walking towards them, his head slightly ducked down apologetically for interrupting. In his arms was his usual sketchbook behind which were the pages of his and Ivan's group project.

"Oh!" She turned again to face Alya. "I forgot to tell you, Nathaniel and Ivan finished their project early too and wanted to swap papers for the peer review so I was gonna go to the library to print out a copy for them."

Alya raised an eyebrow. "Alone? Isn't that a bit...risky?"

"Nathaniel's really bad at Assassin," Marinette reassured. "He's not in the game anymore. He's usually one of the first ones to die every year."

"He was actually the first one to die two years ago," Nino piped up from the doorway. He stuck his head out before giving the thumbs up to Adrien. "Alright, the coast is clear. For now. Let's go, Adrien. Alya, wanna come?"

"I dunno, I kinda want to stay with Marinette," Alya said uncertainty. Marinette smiled.

"I'll be fine. I can catch up with you guys after I print the project. Besides, you know I can protect myself."

"Girl, I love you but you're clumsier than a drunk one-legged chicken sometimes. Not to mention a bit of an airhead," Alya said, making a face.

"I'm not _that_ much of an airhead!"

"Uh-huh. Sure." Alya shook her head. "Seriously though, are you positive that you'll be okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, don't worry. Go do your ambush, I'll meet you at our usual spot when I'm done."

"If you say so…" Alya shook a threatening finger at Nathaniel. "If she comes back dead, _you're_ dead, got it?"

Nathaniel nodded quickly, his grip on his book tightening.

"Al, are you coming or not?" Nino asked impatiently. Alya looked at Marinette again, chewing on the inside of her cheek, seemingly weighing how much she actually trusted Marinette to come back alive. Marinette made a playful shooing motion at her friend. Finally, she sighed.

"Yeah, I'm coming, Nino. I'll text you as soon as I kill off my new target. See you later, girl."

"See you," Marinette replied, grinning.

As soon as they left, she looked to Nathaniel with a smile. "Ready?"

The artist nodded quickly, his bangs falling forward to cover half his face. "Y-Yeah."

Switching her straw to her right hand, she adjusted her bag and they stepped out of the room together.

* * *

"What kind of school raises the price for printing halfway into the year?" Marinette grumbled, digging into her pocket for more change. Nathaniel stood to the side, still clutching to his sketchbook to his chest. In front of them was the library's front desk where the librarian sat typing away next to the library's only printer which noisily spat out page after page of Marinette's group project.

The walk to the library had been...uneventful. Relatively uneventful, anyway. The hallways were still filled with occasional terrified screams from all over campus, but it wasn't as bad as the chaos of the first day. They'd passed dozens of ambushers on the way to the library and had even seen one ambusher get ambushed himself as another guy stabbed him from behind, resulting in a storm of swearing that only stopped once a nearby teacher overheard and intervened.

Although Marinette was almost certain that she would be attacked at some point on the way to the library and kept her straw ready the whole way there, she hadn't once even noticed anyone try to approach her, or even pay her any attention for that matter. Most people were too busy keeping an eye out for their own assassins or, if they were out already, just sat around watching the show.

On the contrary, Nathaniel followed her without any sign of wariness. Aside from his usual downcast gaze and slightly slumped shoulders, he didn't have any sign of tenseness at all. That was to be expected of course, with already being out of the game, but Marinette couldn't help but feel relief. If Nathaniel had actually been lying to her, there was no way that he would be so confident walking through the halls with no straw in sight.

"Do you need some change…?" he offered.

Marinette frowned and switched her straw to her left hand as she dug into her other pocket. Already, her emergency printing money sat on the desk in front of them, only a couple page worth's short. "Um…maybe," she admitted.

Wordlessly, Nathaniel pulled out two coins from his jacket pocket. She noticed that he kept his right arm wrapped tightly around his sketchbook as he reached out and placed the last of the required change on the desk.

"Thanks," she said, dipping her head gratefully. "Sorry, I didn't know they changed the price until now…I'll pay you back tomorrow."

He flushed and shook his head quickly. "N-No, it's fine, really. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?" she asked doubtfully. He nodded again.

"It's fine. It wasn't much..."

"If you say so." She made a mental note to bring the change to school tomorrow anyway. Her dad had always made it a point to teach her to never owe anyone money, no matter how small. She had always kept by this rule and wasn't going to start breaking it now.

The printing came to a stop. The librarian, without looking, reached over and grabbed the newly printed pages. Leafing through the small stack, she counted the pages under her breath before reaching for the small stack of change. She deposited the coins into a drawer in the desk before nodding and passing the warm stack of papers to Marinette.

She stapled the papers with the library stapler. After two failed attempts and one staple barely managing to pierce the whole stack, she handed the stack to Nathaniel with a smile.

"Here."

Nathaniel hesitated. For a second, her grip on her straw tensed, but he only reached out to take the stack before awkwardly shifting his book his arms to cram it between his own project and his sketchbook before carefully slipping his project out and offering it to Marinette. Throughout all this, he was careful to keep his sketchbook upright between the both of them.

She pretended to not notice this.

"Thanks...When do you want it back by?"

"Is tomorrow okay or is that too much trouble…?"

He shook his head. "We can finish it by the end of tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll give yours back by tomorrow then. I'll let Alya know," she said. "I'm going to stay in the library a little bit longer to see if they have a book I'm looking for. I'll see you later?"

He nodded again. "Yeah, see you," he mumbled, his bangs falling to cover his eyes. He turned and quickly made his way out of the library. Marinette waited until she was sure that he had made it at least halfway down the hallway at least before following.

Once in the hallway, she looked around before catching a glimpse of Nathaniel's retreating back turning on her right. Dodging a pair of straw-wielding students, she briskly followed the artist while warily keeping an eye out for someone who may be following her as well.

Nathaniel walked quickly, faster than his normal pace. But this wasn't uncommon, even those who were out of the game already had to be quick on their feet the first couple days to avoid any accidental collisions with anyone fleeting from their assassin. Last year, Kim had barrelled straight into one of the smaller teachers in the hallway. Marinette hadn't even known that it was possible for people to literally go flying after being crashed into outside of cartoons until then. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, but by the end of the week, rumors had it that Kim sent her flying out a window and into the streets from the second floor.

Just as Marinette was about to give up on following Nathaniel, the artist stopped at his locker. Marinette barely ducked behind a row of lockers in time to avoid walking straight past him as he spun the correct combination into his lock. As his locker swung open, he finally loosened his hold on his sketchbook, allowing a gap between his book and his chest. Unfortunately, due to the angle, she still couldn't quite see if there was anything there.

She began to lean forward in an attempt to peek to see if he really was hiding something or if she was imagining it when her phone chimed twice at her.

Surprised, she let out a squeak and took a step back, her hands automatically reaching for her phone. Nathaniel whipped around at the sound, clutching his sketchbook to his chest once more. His eyes were wide, darting around before realizing that it was just her. He raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Marinette…?"

"Oh...hi, Nathaniel." She forced out an awkward laugh. "Nice meeting you here. How was your day?"

"Were you following me?"

"Me? Pfft, nah. Just...y'know, taking a walk around the school?" She cursed her inability to lie well. Why on earth was she so bad at this?

He didn't look even remotely convinced. "You said you were going to stay in the library."

"They didn't have the book I wanted?" The look he gave her was so dubious, she was surprised he didn't call her out right then and there. She sighed. "Okay, fine. I was following you."

He frowned. "Why?"

"I just...I dunno. It looked like you were hiding something since you were holding your sketchbook so close to you the whole time. I was a little suspicious," she admitted. "I thought you were hiding your straw or something there and you were somehow lying about being out so I, um, followed you."

"I-I see…" His ears turned red. "You could have asked...:"

"I know. Sorry." She pursed her lips. "But you _aren't_ hiding your straw or something, are you?"

Nathaniel quickly shook his head. "No! I just….here."

He tilted his sketchbook forward, lifting her project out of the way. Taped to the cover of his sketchbook were various pictures of Ladybug, each clearly printed off either the Ladyblog or a news source. After a couple seconds, he let her project cover it up again, hiding it from view before pressing it to his chest once more.

"I use...references. For my drawings," he explained quietly. He was as red as a tomato at this point and didn't meet her eyes. "I didn't want anyone to see since the last time the class saw my drawings, it...you remember what happened. So I was hiding it."

"You draw Ladybug?" Marinette asked in surprise. He blushed again but nodded.

"Oh." She couldn't help but feel a bit flattered. She'd known, along with the rest of the class, that he had originally drawn her, but it was something that had never bothered her. Crushes happened all the time in middle school, and it certainly wasn't the first time someone liked her. Besides, she'd assumed that his crush on her died quickly after what happened that day, but she'd never imagined that it would just move from her to her other identity. "Sorry."

He couldn't help but let out a small smile. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I just...I should have trusted you earlier," she said apologetically.

"It's okay," he muttered. "I understand."

"Still, I shouldn't have—" Her phone chimed again. She glanced down.

"I have to go...Alya's wondering where I am," Marinette said, frowning as she noticed the time for the first time. There was only half an hour of lunch left. "I'll see you back in class. For real this time," she added.

He smiled. "Okay. See you later."

"Yeah, see you," she said, smiling as she turned and began texting Alya back before jogging to the courtyard.

* * *

"Who eats lunch in their classroom like that?!" Alya complained. Marinette winced and changed the phone to speakers before unplugging the device and placing it on her desk. She'd left her phone to charge by her bed before dinner and now, a couple hours later, it was fully charged.

"Our targets do, apparently," Marinette replied, smiling. After Marinette had returned, Alya had immediately dragged her off to look for her target, nevermind lunch. As a self-proclaimed professional blogger, Alya had also taken the liberty of looking up Marinette's target as well and as luck would have it, both of their targets were in the same homeroom. Unluckily for them, however, both targets were also apparently best friends and had taken shelter in their classroom together, each keeping an eye on the doors.

Alya huffed. "Fine, eating lunch in the classroom I can understand, but sprinting out their classrooms the _second_ the bell rang like a desperately eloping couple? They're taking it way too seriously!"

"And you're not?" Marinette chuckled. She opened the cookie tin that she kept in her room and passed a cookie to Tikki who sat in her usual spot on her shoulder. The kwami nibbled on the treat happily.

"Girl, I'm taking this the right amount of serious. And the right amount of serious demands that I win this game," Alya declared.

"Mhm. Not too serious, huh," Marinette said amusedly.

"Oh shush. I know what I'm doing." She could almost see Alya's eye roll. "It's you who I'm worried about."

"Me? I'll be fine. My new assassin hasn't even shown up yet," Marinette said dismissively.

Alya laughed. "I know you'll be fine. That's not what I mean though. I still can't believe you didn't tell me about going to Adrien's house tomorrow! I should really leave you two alone more often if things like this happen when I'm not around. And did you tell him that I beat you in that race? We both know you were holding back. We're having another race tomorrow after your date with Adrien. You owe me after not telling me all this earlier."

"It's not a date. You and Nino will be there," Marinette mumbled, turning bright pink. "And I told you during lunch, didn't I?"

"Girl, you should have told me during class. That's what note passing is for," Alya scolded playfully. "Besides—" A loud crash from Alya's end interrupted her.

Marinette frowned. "Alya?"

"Ella! Put that away this instant! Etta, don't encourage her!" Alya's stern voice rang out faintly from the phone. "Ella, I'm warning you…"

Marinette waited patiently. After about a minute, shuffling could be heard from the phone.

Alya huffed. "Sorry about that. I think I got to go, Ella got her hands on some candy from school and now I gotta go tackle them into bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Sure. I have to get off soon anyway. Nights."

"Night, Marinette— _Ella_!" The call ended abruptly.

"Sounds like Alya won't be going to sleep anytime soon," Tikki commented, swallowing the last of the cookie. Marinette smiled.

"We won't be either. Are you ready?"

Tikki nodded.

"Tikki, spots on!"

* * *

Chat landed on the rooftop with a barely audible thud, his baton retracting back into its compact size as he put it away. Ladybug was already waiting for him, having finished patrolling her section of the city first as usual. She sat at the edge of the roof with her back to him, her feet dangling off as she cradled a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. Grinning mischievously, he rose onto his tiptoes and slowly crept up towards her.

"Don't even think about it, kitty."

He pouted. "Oh c'mon. How'd you even know I was there?"

"Moon's behind you. I can see your shadow," she replied, pulling out a thermos from the bag next to her. She filled his usual cup with the drink as he plopped down next to her.

"Is that why you always sit on this side of the roof? So you can see my shadow every time we have patrol at this hour?" he asked, frowning as he took his mug from her. "But purrincess, where's the fun in that?"

"I can hear you too. For a cat, you're not very graceful sometimes," she said, smiling.

"I'm wounded, bugaboo. I'll have you know that I'm the most graceful cat superhero in Paris."

"You're the _only_ cat superhero in Paris."

"Exactly."

She rolled her eyes. "Hurry up with your hot chocolate. I wanna go to sleep early tonight."

"Why, got plans tomorrow?" He asked. Nonetheless, he began chugging his drink down, slightly burning his tongue as he did so. She shrugged.

"No. I just have school."

"Isn't exam season over?" He asked, licking his lips. He handed her the empty mug, which she wiped dry with a napkin before shoving it into her bag with the thermos and her own empty mug.

"Yeah. But there's just something...tiring going on."

"Tiring?"

She nodded. "Yeah. So I want to go to sleep early to prepare for it."

"Would this something be a game?" Chat asked curiously. Ladybug paused.

"...No."

She wouldn't look at him directly. He grinned. She could meet his eyes when she lied.

"Really?"

"Really." She gave him a light smack on the arm. "And you're not supposed to pry into my personal life, remember?"

He held his hands up innocently. "That wasn't prying, I was just asking a simple question, my lady. Am I not allowed to do that?"

"No."

"Ruuuuuude."

"Yep." She stood up, stretching as she did so. She held her hand out to him and he took it, allowing her to pull him up. It was a habit of hers now, helping him up after patrols now. A couple months ago, he had sprained his ankle after an akuma attack and had nearly slipped off the roof afterward after patrol. Of course, he may have slightly exaggerated how handicapped he was from that injury, but after a week of making sure he was alright, this one habit of hers stayed.

He let go of her hand almost reluctantly as he straightened. She didn't notice this as she tied the bag close and firmly wound it around her hand before taking out her yo-yo.

She nodded. "Until tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Goodnight, my lady." He gave an exaggerated bow.

"Night, kitty. See you tomorrow." After making sure the bag was secure one last time, she gave him one last smile before swinging away into the night. He didn't move and instead watched as her figure disappeared. Then he smiled.

"Goodnight, Ladybug."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Wow. It's not even 1Am yet and I'm falling asleep. I usually go to sleep at like 10 nowadays so I'm dead. I'll look over for any huge grammar mistakes in this chapter tomorrow. Yeah. Don't get old y'all, you'll start having the bedtime of an old man**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **callmeakumatized - Hopefully this one was good as well :) Thank you for reviewing!**

 **yellow 14 - Thank you! And thank you for reading my stories! :D**

 **Adrienette4life - Muwahaha, who knows? ;)**

 **MsBlackOut - Thank you!**

 **mayuralover - Aha, I wish I was a kid again too...being an adult is too stressful lol**

 **Sienna Maiu - Kids will be kids lol**

 **Danielmletchford2 - Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Lilly flower forever - Thanks! Hopefully** **this chapter is good too :)**

 **Lunalove1297 - Took a while but here's the next chapter. Thank you for reviewing!**


	4. Wednesday Morning

"This is ridiculous," Marinette muttered under her breath. She tapped the end of her straw impatiently against her leg as her eyes darted from one end of the hallway to another. She met the eyes of another person lying in ambush and they gave each other a sheepish smile. Next to her, Alya also had her back pressed up against the hallway wall, as close to the classroom's door as possible without being seen from the inside. Gentle chatter flowed out of the classroom. "They're never going to come out."

"Don't think like that. They've gotta grow careless at some point," Alya replied, her voice equally as low as she used her phone to sneak a quick picture of the classroom. The girl retracted her phone just as fast before anyone could notice it and pulled up the picture with a frown. Marinette didn't even bother glancing over.

"Okay, they're done eating lunch. Or at least they pushed it to the side." Alya said quietly. Then she added, "Maybe they'll want to go to the restroom to pee or something now that they're done?"

"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled out bottles and peed into those instead."

Alya elbowed Marinette. "Gross. And be a little more optimistic here. They can't avoid us forever."

"They avoided us this morning," Marinette pointed out. Despite both girls staying outside their targets' classroom for the better part of an hour before school officially started, the two girls they were after stuck together like glue and absolutely refused to leave. Neither of their targets had showed even the slightest bit of interest in leaving the room to hunt for their own targets. They just...sat. Alya had even tried to get Nino to lure at least one of them out earlier in the morning but both had seen right through the trap and turned their noses up at him.

Alya scowled. "Yeah. That must be their plan. They're going to wait the game out until it's only them and a handful of other people. That also explains why my previous target wished me 'good luck' when I killed her. Dang it."

"So what are we going to do?" Marinette asked. "Plan B?"

Plan "B," which Alya had actually named "Plan Bombardment," was their last resort. The plan was rather simple—each girl took a door and rushed in brandishing her straw, hopefully causing enough panic among the students in the class to corner their actual targets. It was somewhat [of a] crude [method], but it wasn't bad. The biggest downside of it was that it would, without a doubt, let their targets know exactly who was after them and any sneak attacks after that would be much harder if they failed.

Alya chewed her cheek. "I didn't want it to come down to that, but we might have to, at this rate. Lunch is over in fifteen minutes. Maybe give it another five and then move onto plan B?"

Marinette nodded. "That sounds good."

A few seconds passed.

"You know what, to heck with it. Let's just do it now."

Marinette let out a chuckle. "What happened to waiting five minutes?"

"Ain't nobody got time for that, girl. You take this door, I'll get in position over there. Countdown from three with your fingers and we'll go in together on your mark."

Marinette gave a thumbs up and after a brief nod, Alya straightened, pushed off the wall, and casually strolled past the classroom door, eyes down at her phone to throw off suspicion. To any passing glance from inside the class, she looked just like another student returning to her classroom after lunch. It wasn't until she was out of sight once again that she pocketed her phone and pulled her straw out from her sleeve. The boy who was already there quickly made room for Alya, putting his straw away as a peaceful gesture. They exchanged a few whispered words and his face lit up. He pulled his straw out again and Alya turned back into position.

She looked at Marinette, her stance tense.

Wordlessly, Marinette held her own straw primed in her right hand and used her other hand to hold up three fingers. She began counting down with them.

Three.

Two.

On one, both girls, along with the guy right behind Alya, simultaneously swung from their places on the wall and into the classroom, each menacingly brandishing their boba straws.

The effect was immediate. Like their targets, about half of the class was also still in the game and had sought shelter in their classroom. Naturally, most of them had also kept a casual eye on the doors so that if anyone decided to stroll in, they'd be able to react just as quickly. It was a standard tactic, one that nearly everyone had learned to adopt. And yet, it was largely thanks to this that Plan Bombardment worked.

The students closest to the doors instinctively shoved themselves away, some of whom did so right into their bench partners who either yelped or simply fell off the edges of their seats. Others who were not quite as panicked leaped to their feet and raised their straws in defense as their eyes darted around for a possible exit. And those who had not been as vigilant stared around in confusion before hastily scrambling to their feet. Luckily for Alya and Marinette, neither of their targets fell into the first two groups. Anna, Marinette's target and the taller of the two friends, flew clumsily out of her seat, nearly dropping her straw as her friend, Irene, awkwardly followed her more out of panic than anything. They were trapped right in the middle of the room.

Their new temporary ally made the first move. The guy who followed Alya into the room, a brunette whose name Marinette quickly recalled to be Jacky, lunged forward at the closest girl who let out an unholy screech and all but threw herself away from him. Her scream jump-started the rest of the room into action and soon, everyone was climbing over their desks and benches, most of whom were either laughing, screaming, or both.

As the room was thrown into chaos, Marinette spotted Anna weaving through the throng of bodies heading towards her with Alya's target following close behind. Alya, noticing this, narrowed her eyes and began to make her way towards them. Anna glanced back, taking note of Alya's sudden determination and grabbed her shorter friend's arm and yanked her forward, away from Alya.

Marinette grinned. Anna's new bid to protect her friend from Alya had put herself in a near run straight for Marinette. She braced herself, ready to swipe at Anna as they tried to pass her.

But just as the girls started to get within range, Anna shoved Alya's target ahead, straight into Marinette.

Taken by surprise, Marinette barely had time to even register what happened before Anna's friend crashed into her, effectively unblocking the exit. Just as quickly as it happened, Anna dragged her friend back up to her feet again and both were out the door as Marinette regained her balance.

"No!" Alya cried, dashing after them. She grabbed hold of Marinette's arm as she passed, towing her out as well. "C'mon, our targets are getting away!"

Leaving the disheveled class behind, Marinette snapped out of her momentary daze and began sprinting down the hallway, easily matching Alya's pace. Anna turned to look at them again, her eyes widening as she realized how quickly the gap between the pairs of girls was closing. Unfortunately for Anna, it was just then that someone stepped out of the classroom ahead of them and right into her path.

Marinette's heartbeat skipped she as realized who it was, and without thinking, blurted out, "Nathaniel! Stop them!"

The artist seemed to freeze, her eyes widening as he turned and, just as Marinette was afraid that he was going to remain frozen for too long, he threw his arms out in a makeshift, unsteady barrier. He caught Anna first, his sketchbook and papers flying out of his arms and onto the hallway floor as one of his arms hooked around her. Alya's target, who was a second behind Anna, twisted away at the last moment.

"Go, Irene, go!" Anna yelled, struggling pointlessly. She nearly pulled Nathaniel to the floor with her in all her flailing, but once she turned to see just how close Marinette and Alya were, the fight drained out of her and she gave a pout. This change in events didn't deter Alya, however, and the girl sprinted past Anna and Nathaniel, determined to catch up to Irene. Within seconds, both girls had turned the corner, a few curses escaping Alya as she nearly barreled into a couple students.

Marinette came up to Nathaniel in a job, barely out of breath.

"Thanks Nathaniel. Sorry I dragged you into this," Marinette said apologetically as she flicked her straw out, giving Anna a gentle poke in the shoulder, immediately after which Nathaniel quickly dropped his hold on the girl. Nathaniel shook his head.

"It's no problem…" he mumbled, glancing down the hall in the direction Alya and Irene disappeared. "Is Alya…?"

"Yeah, she's chasing her target," Marinette confirmed. "We finally caught them outside of their class."

Anna smiled wryly, digging into her jacket pocket for a bit before producing a folded slip of paper. "You mean you forced us outside of our class. And I thought we had a good chance of winning this year too."

"You did. Until you got me and Alya as your assassins," Marinette replied with a grin as she took the offered paper. She didn't open it yet and instead slipped it into her own jacket pocket. Anna shook her head.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not the only one with bad luck this year. I had fun while it lasted. I guess I'll see you later, um…?"

"Marinette," she said quickly, smiling. "And yeah. You guys gave us a hard time. It was nice meeting you."

Anna nodded, her short blond hair bobbing. "You too. I'll see you around then, Marinette. Nathaniel," she said, the corner of her lips twitching upwards. Then she turned around and began walking back to her classroom. Marinette turned to Nathaniel.

"Sorry about that. I didn't think that you'd just appear like that. Are you okay?" Marinette asked, slightly worried. She crouched down, picking up the papers that flew out of Nathaniel's arms earlier. He joined her, hastily picking up his sketchbook first.

"Y-Yeah," he said distractedly, hurriedly gathering his papers together, many of which were various sketches and doodles that have flown out of his book. A few were references, mostly Ladybug but also a few cartoons and anime characters. These, he gathered first.

She handed him the papers that she gathered, which he took gratefully, before standing up once more. Nathaniel stayed crouched down, his head turned towards the way that Alya disappeared. His face was angled away from her.

"Nathaniel?"

He tensed slightly at his name. Almost subconsciously, Marinette found herself tensing as well out of habit. It was this reflex that very well may have saved her when not a moment later, Nathaniel spun on the balls of his feet and swung at her legs, his boba straw missing by a mere inch as she stumbled backward in surprise.

There were, undeniably, more than a few physical perks that came with being a miraculous holder. As Ladybug, she had a physically stronger body, agiler. As a civilian, she didn't exactly lose these perks completely, but it wasn't like she could gracefully land from a three-story building without getting a few fractures, or run on walls while simultaneously dodging an akuma attack. Or, in this case, simply keep her balance as she panicked.

Before her brain could fully process this turn of events, Nathaniel was already springing at her, his mouth set in a determined, yet slightly apologetic, line. She let out a yelp and barely dodged. But that was the most that her balance could take and she fell backward, landing painfully on her backside.

"Marinette!"

* * *

"Nathaniel! Stop them!" Marinette shouted, panic lining her voice.

For a second, Alya was sure that he would stay frozen for too long, but his eyes flickered from Anna to Irene. He threw his arms up just in time to catch Anna, but Irene escaped him. Alya's eyes narrowed. No, she didn't just escape him. He let her escape him. Anna crashed into his right arm, with Irene heading straight for his left. But Nathaniel immediately started pulling his left arm in right before Anna even made contact with him. Now that alone wouldn't be enough to ring any alarms, but what really bothered Alya was that he maintained eye contact with Irene up until Anna crashed into him.

Nathaniel letting her target escape right in front of her? On purpose? Rude. Alya almost wished Nathaniel was still in the game. That way she could have a shot at getting revenge.

Anna's shouts barely registered with Alya as she sprinted past Nathaniel. Irene was so close; with her straw outstretched, Alya felt like she could almost graze the other girl's back with the tip. But just as the distance began to close, Irene turned sharply to the right, effectively escaping without even realizing just how close her game over had been. Alya let out a short growl under her breath and prepared to force herself faster after the turn.

At least, that was the plan before two students turned the corner before she could.

Letting out a stream of curses that she was confident would land her into the principal's office if there was a teacher within earshot, she shoved past them, intending to apologize later in the day. Irene was no athlete, but adrenaline proved to be a powerful hormone and by the time Alya turned, her target had already doubled the distance between them once again.

Alya doubled her efforts, her own adrenaline giving her the boost she needed, and tackled Irene from behind just before the next turn. She firmly poked the smaller girl with the tip of her straw as her arm wrapped around Irene's waist, keeping her upright after the tackle. The handful of students pressed against the wall to avoid the chase looked over with mild interest before continuing walking.

"If it makes you feel better, you were my hardest target so far," Alya said, releasing her hold on Irene with a wry smile. "You okay?"

"Y-Yes. Yeah. I'm fine," Irene said shakily. She turned, shaking her head slightly before her gaze fell upon Alya's straw. Then she groaned. "Dang it."

"Yeah. Sorry. Your target? Or my target now I guess?" She held out her hand. Irene nodded quickly, reaching into her back pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. She handed it to Alya. Irene sighed.

"He's not going to be happy about this."

"Who?" Alya asked distractedly, straightening out the folded slip of paper in her hands. "Nathaniel?"

Irene's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"I can tell. So are you two friends or…?"

"Not really…" Irene trailed off, watching Alya as she unfolded the piece of paper. Alya's eyes widened.

"No way. Are you serious right now? But how—why?"

Irene let out a nervous laugh. "I am, uh, a huge sucker for fanart."

"Hang on. Nathaniel, this Nathaniel," Alya pointed at the face on the piece of paper. "Bribed you? With art?"

Irene turned red. "It's good art! And plus, no one really draws OCs in my price range so…"

Alya held up her hand. "Wait. Not judging, by the way, but hold up a second. Nathaniel told Marinette that he's out of the game. He had her convinced. I would have heard about Nathaniel trying anything and—" Alya broke off.

"Oh my goodness. Nathaniel is being shadier than a oak on a bright summer day right now and I just left him with my best friend. Marinette!" Alya shouted the last part, already turning around and running back the way she came.

* * *

Nathaniel heard the shout as well, his head turning back to Marinette after instinctively looking back at the direction of Alya's voice. He tightened his grip on his straw and bit his lip.

"Sorry—"

"Marinette!" Alya yelled out again, all but slamming into the wall from the force of her turn as she came barreling down the hallway again. Her cry startled Nathaniel and he looked up again, giving Alya, who couldn't quite manage to slow down, just enough time to run right into the artist. Marinette let out a yelp, scrambling backward to avoid the two as they stumbled towards her from the force of their collision.

"Death to the tomato!" Alya said triumphantly, stabbing Nathaniel in the arm even before they had a chance to regain their respective balances. Nathaniel fell forward, awkwardly crashing onto the floor next to Marinette with a wince. Alya on the other hand, straightened up, a wide smile still on her face. Nathaniel groaned.

"I was about to get my first kill," Nathaniel huffed. He wore a small pout. "Ever."

"Okay, I kinda sorta feel bad about that but—wait, 'kill'?" Alya narrowed her eyes at Nathaniel. "Is Marinette actually your target? Was your target? Is my target?"

Nathaniel bit his lip, not answering. Alya groaned loudly. She turned to Marinette.

"You're my target. Run."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Huuuuuge thanks to my amazing beta reader shamelesslyromantic who has been wonderfully patient with me and helped edit this chapter and the next :) Almost dropped writing for the summer if it weren't for this amazing person! Next chapter should be up relatively quickly as I honestly legit thought I posted this a while ago because of a very vivid dream... As always, thank you for reading!**


	5. Wednesday AfternoonEvening

"You know that you have to sit down eventually, right?" Alya asked, grinning triumphantly as she patted the space next to her. Her straw dangled almost carelessly from her fingers. Behind her, Nino wore a matching grin as he propped his head up on his hands, nearly bouncing in his seat as he watched the scene unfold. Clearly, he didn't feel all that bad for Marinette after her 'betrayal' and nearly cried from laughter when Alya explained what had happened.

"I'll sit when class starts," Marinette said stubbornly, crossing her arms. A small smile slipped onto her face despite herself and continued to stand just a few feet away from her usual seat next to Alya.

After it was revealed that Marinette's new assassin was none other than Alya, the pair had spent what little was left of lunch sprinting through the halls before the warning bell forced them back into the room. Marinette had to give her friend credit; if Alya had been chasing anyone other than her down, she was almost certain that Alya would have won, even with her head start. Like Alya had said, you gotta be fast to a reporter on Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Hey, on the bright side, you survived until the middle of the week," Nino said cheerfully. Marinette made a face.

"I'm not dead just yet."

" _Yet_ ," Alya repeated, laughing. "C'mon, take a seat. Aren't we friends?"

"No."

"Who aren't friends?" Adrien asked, jogging into the classroom, throwing a quick glance over this shoulder before sliding into his seat.

"Marinette and Alya," Nino chirped up. His grin grew wider. "Alya got Marinette as her target."

Adrien's eyes widened. "Really? When?"

"During lunch. Apparently, Nathaniel was Marinette's assassin and Alya took him out," Nino explained, turning to gesture at the sullen artist at the back of the room. "Only a matter of time now. Even if she doesn't get her now, we're all going to your place for the project after school."

Alya gasped. "Oh shoot, I completely forgot about that!" Then she smirked triumphantly. "You're so dead."

Marinette groaned. "Can't we call a timeout or some—"

"Alright class, sorry about that," Ms. Bustier said, briskly walking into the room. She set her books down onto the desk. "Let's start class now. Marinette, please take a seat."

Marinette nodded, cautiously sitting down as far from Alya as the bench allowed her.

"Now class, please open to where we left off on…"

* * *

"Class dismissed."

"Aha!" Alya's straw shot out towards Marinette, only for it to be deflected at the last second by Marinette's folder as the girl leaped out of her seat, backpack already slung over one shoulder. She playfully stuck her tongue out at Alya as she backed up a few more steps. Alya pouted.

"You can't escape me forever, Mari."

"Wanna bet?"

"Is that a challenge?" Alya asked, standing up. She playfully twirled her straw between her fingers. "C'mon, I promise I'll split the cash prize with you. I'll give you ten percent."

"I'll consider it if you give me a hundred percent," Marinette bargained.

"This is amusing and all, but we should really get going," Nino interrupted, nudging Alya. "Adrien's dad said we gotta hit the road as soon as we're done and I doubt he wants us to take our time just getting there."

Alya made a face. "Oh yeah. I forgot how your dad is for a sec. Let's get going then. Is your driver taking us?"

Adrien shook his head. "I thought we could walk since I live only a couple blocks away. I hope that's okay."

"Yeah, no problem, dude. Should we take the back exit then? Since your place is that way anyway," Nino suggested.

Adrien nodded. "Sure. Let me just text Natalie a reminder really quick."

"Well?" Alya dramatically gestured towards the door. "After you, Marinette."

"Very funny. You're walking first."

"Wow, no trust at all," Alya laughed but complied, slinging her bag over her shoulder before heading towards the door. She paused and glanced warily out the doors before passing through, Nino doing the same as he followed. Marinette didn't miss the fact that Alya never loosened her hold on her straw, or even bothered to even try to hide it for that matter.

Marinette grimaced. It might be tricky escaping Alya for the rest of the day. Especially if they were going to be together for the next hour or two. Well, as long as she kept Alya at more than reaching distance away and kept the girl in her sight at all times, it should be okay. She was lucky in a way; she no longer needed to constantly look over her shoulder for an unknown assassin. She _knew_ Alya, so it should be a little easier avoiding her, right?

"Marinette? Are you going?" Adrien's voice jolted her from her thoughts as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Are you worried that Alya's hiding next to the door or something?"

"U-Uh yeah, kinda," Marinette laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head.

Adrien smiled. "Don't worry. You've been playing this game longer than Alya has, right? I'm sure you can avoid her. If it makes you feel better, I'll help you out. We can walk together behind those two and I can be your personal bodyguard of sorts. How does that sound?"

Marinette flushed and jerked her head in a quick nod, a movement painfully awkward even for her. She didn't trust herself to speak, fearing that she would just squeak instead if she even attempted to. If Adrien noticed, he didn't say anything, only flashing her a grin as he stepped towards the door, straw read in his hand as he took a quick glance in both directions before stepping out. He gestured for her to follow.

"Coast is clear; Nino and Alya already went ahead. Let's catch up before they leave us completely behind," Adrien said jokingly. He paused as Marinette scurried out the door and gave the hall a precautionary sweep before the two continued.

"Actually, Nino and I made a bet on whether Alya would get you," Adrien confessed, abashed. "We were passing notes during class earlier."

Marinette's brows raised in surprise. She hadn't taken Adrien for the type to pass notes in class, especially since he was in the front row. Even more surprising was that she didn't notice. Granted, she was a bit distracted today by Alya's subtle movements closer to her. But still.

" _How?_ "

Adrien chuckled. "Nino and I have our ways. We don't do it often, but it's not hard even if you're sitting in the front. Anyways, I didn't bet against you. I'm sure that Nino is going to help Alya out too, so this is only fair."

She frowned. So him helping her was only because he had bet on her? She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Although, she supposed she _was_ flattered that he thought that she could evade Alya. They paused as they came to a corner, Adrien peeking around before they continued. Alya and Nino came into view as the pair left the building. Outside, Nino looked over his shoulder and grinned as he noticed them. Alya did the same, her grin nearly twice as wide as she gave Marinette a sly look.

"Hey dudes! There you guys are. We were starting to get worried."

"Yeah, worried that you ran away," Alya teased, waving her straw in Marinette's direction, but made no further move towards them. The two did, however, let Adrien and Marinette catch up before continuing. Of course, the pairs kept a distance of a few feet between them. Close enough to talk and far enough away for Marinette to dance out of the way if the need came. Marinette almost giggled at how silly the whole thing seemed.

"So Al, do you know who your assassin is yet?" Nino asked, raising his voice just slightly for Marinette and Adrien.

Alya shrugged. "Whoever it is, it might have changed again. I haven't seen anyone recently. How about you, Adrien?" Alya asked, glancing over her shoulder.

Adrien shook his head. "Some guy, I think. I don't know him. It was a girl really briefly, but I think she was killed. It's like I have someone new trying to kill me every time I see someone chasing me."

"Maybe some of them are just your fans," Nino suggested.

Adrien smiled. "Sure, if my fans suddenly wanted to poke my eyes out with boba straws."

"You never know," Nino replied. "Who's your target then?"

"Some guy from another class. Not sure. I was just going to get him if I happen to see him."

"Oh yeah, cause you don't really have a real reward for winning, huh?" Nino shook his head in pity. "That sucks, dude."

"If you win, you can always donate the prize to one of us," Alya piped up. "Just a suggestion. _Hint hint, nudge nudge._ "

Adrien laughed. "I don't think father would want that."

"Boo. It'll be your win. You should be able to do whatever you want with the prize," Alya pouted.

"Father already gives me an allowance. Even if I got the cash prize, he'd probably put it straight into my savings."

"What about the date?" Alya asked mischievously.

"The date?" Adrien asked, confused. Marinette pressed her lips together, already having a faint idea of where Alya was going with this. "You mean the photo shoot with the final winner?"

Alya nodded. "What about that prize?"

Adrien frowned, still not understanding. "I mean, I guess it'll just be a photo shoot with myself then. I don't think it'll be anything special if I was the winner… Just normal a normal photo shoot."

Exasperated, Alya let out a groan. "I mean, what if you could choose someone to do that photo shoot date with? You can choose a friend, can't you? Assuming that you win and your dad lets you give your prize to someone else."

"I doubt that he will."

" _Pretend_."

Adrien's brows furrowed. "Someone to do the photoshoot with me? Any friend I want?" Marinette felt her breath hitch in her throat.

He thought for a moment. "Well, Nino then, I guess."

"...What?" Alya expression of pure disbelief was enough for Marinette to burst into giggles as Nino let out a snort.

"My dude, I love you too, but I don't think that's what Al meant."

"What? What do you mean?"

Nino shook his head, grinning. "You know what, nevermind. Oh hey, we're here." They stopped in front of the gates of Adrien's mansion. Nino and Alya moved aside, Nino gesturing for Adrien to ring the bell. The model stepped forward. The security camera that popped out briefly looked at Adrien before scanning over the rest of his group and retracting back into the wall. Not a second later, the gates swung open.

"That camera thing is kinda creepy. I don't think I'd ever get used to it," Nino commented as he passed through the gates, following Adrien. Alya gestured for Marinette to go ahead, but Marinette pulled a face at her and Alya rolled her eyes before going on ahead first.

"Is it?" Adrien asked. "I guess I got used to it. Father is always installing the latest technology."

"Yeah, I can tell. Nothing but the best for him. Don't you guys have a lockdown system? Are you preparing for the zombie apocalypse or something?" Alya asked jokingly as they crossed the courtyard. As always, the courtyard was meticulously clean, a feat that had always confused Marinette as she had never seen a single maid or butler in sight. Maybe it was a side duty of Adrien's bodyguard?

Adrien shook his head. "He's just a little worried about the akuma attacks apparently. He had them installed after my birthday."

"Yeah, sorry about that dude," Nino said sheepishly. "That wasn't cool of me."

"Nah, it's fine. My father was being unfair. You meant well," Adrien said with a grin. He started up the steps of the mansion. "Even if you did end up trying to send half of Paris into space."

"You put me in a _bubble_!" Alya said, giving Nino a light punch in the arm.

"Hey, free space tour, right?" Nino laughed. "Y'all should be thanking me."

" _Mhmm_." Alya paused. Then, with a mischievous smirk, she spun around, straw stretched blindly in Marinette's direction.

Marinette yelped, reflexively stepping back just in time as the pointed plastic tip missed her neck by a few inches. Unfortunately, she had just started up the steps to the door as well, having absentmindedly closed the gap between her and Alya, and her arms flailed as she fell. Luckily for her, she had only gone up a single step when it happened, but she still groaned as she rubbed her bottom from the fall.

"Oh my goodness, Marinette, are you okay?!" Alya exclaimed, horrified. She dropped her straw, hurrying down the stairs to help the other girl stand. "Can you get up?"

She winced, unsteadily standing with Alya's help. She gingerly lifted her left foot off the ground. "I think I twisted my ankle a bit."

"Marinette!" Adrien hurried down the steps, Nino trailing behind him. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah…" She slowly tested out her left foot again before grimacing. That was definitely a twisted ankle. It wasn't that badly twisted though; she would most likely be fine again in a couple of days.

"I'm so, so sorry, I didn't think that you were on the stairs already," Alya apologized. "Can you walk?"

Marinette took a hesitant step forward, testing her step. Both Adrien and Alya hovered, ready to offer support if she needed it. If it was under different circumstances, she would have blushed from his attention. But right now, she was more worried about her duties as Ladybug. How on earth was she supposed to do patrols? Not to mention akuma attacks. When even _was_ the last attack? With her luck, the next one might happen before she was healed. She almost groaned again at the thought.

"I can walk," she confirmed, wincing as she put weight on her left foot again. "With a limp."

Alya watched guilty, putting her arm around Marinette. "I'm so sorry," she apologized again. "Here girl, I got you."

Marinette let out a smile. "Don't worry about it, Alya. You know how clumsy I am. I was bound to get injured. It's been like what, a week since my last accident?" She joked.

"Half a week," Alya corrected, finally giving a small smile. "C'mon, let's get you up these stairs and into a chair."

"I'll tell Natalie to get an ice pack," Adrien said, giving the pair of girls a worried look. Marinette smiled gratefully, a smile that he returned before turning to hurry up the stairs again. Nino shook his head as he walked beside the girls on the other side of Marinette, ready to help if needed.

"Wow, just as I thought that you were getting less clumsy too. You sure you're okay?" He asked. He had picked up Alya's straw from earlier, the boba straw now stuffed inside his jean pocket.

"Yeah, it's just slightly twisted," Marinette sighed. "Why am I so clumsy?"

"Maybe you were cursed as a baby," Alya suggested, helping Marinette up the stairs. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna stab you or anything. For today."

Marinette cracked a smile. "Just for today?"

Alya poked her friend. "Yep. Think of it as my apology."

As they reached the top of the stairs, the doors were already opened by Adrien earlier, and Nino went ahead to further open them as they passed. Just as he closed the doors behind the girls, Adrien returned with an ice pack wrapped in a paper towel, Natalie following behind him. The woman only surveyed Marinette for an extra moment, her expression perfectly neutral as always.

"I expect everything to be finished before dinner, Adrien. You know how your father is. Let me know if you need anything."

Adrien nodded. "Thank you, Natalie."

The woman inclined her head in acknowledgment before neatly turning on her heels and striding out of the room.

"We can go to the dining room. Do you guys need a printer?" Adrien asked.

Alya shook her head. "I printed a copy of ours earlier. Where's the dining room?"

"This way," Adrien said, gesturing towards one of the doors as he lead the way.

"This house is _huge_ ," Alya said, shaking her head. "And... _sleek_. I almost feel unworthy of walking here."

"Maybe because you are," Nino piped up. Alya smacked him with her free hand.

"Like you're any more worthy," she retorted.

"Here." Adrien pulled out a chair from the dining table. He had walked a little faster than the group, and he set the ice pack onto the table as they caught up to him. "Watch your step; the floor is a little weird here," he said, pointing out the depression in the flooring where bright marble gave way to polished golden brown wooden flooring.

As Alya helped Marinette to her chair, Nino sat across from Marinette, opening his shoulder bag to pull out their project. Instead of sitting next to Marinette as the girl expected, Alya moved around to sit next to Nino, a poorly hidden smile tugging at her lips. Adrien, naturally, took the only logical seat left, right next to Marinette, causing her to blush lightly at the proximity. She hurried to take the ice pack and pressed it to her left foot resting atop her right knee, using the task as an excuse to avoid looking directly at him.

"So did you guys finish yours?" Alya asked, pulling out their own project from her bag. Nino nodded as he slid the paper packet over to Adrien.

"Pretty much. We just gotta give it a final once over just to make sure."

Adrien reached across the table for the papers, unintentionally leaning towards Marinette as he did so. She squeaked slightly at the unexpected movement as Alya busied herself with pushing up her glasses to hide her grin.

Marinette didn't even realize that she had held her breath until Adrien pulled away again. He began quickly flipping through the papers as she fought the urge to stare at him. She couldn't resist peeking, however.

"I'm pretty sure ours is ready," Adrien said, looking up just in time to catch her looking. He flashed her one of his model smiles and she nearly choked on her own saliva as she quickly turned away, her ears pink. Adrien didn't comment if he noticed, and he slid the packet of paper over to Marinette as Alya passed their project over to him.

"Wouldn't it be easier if you two sat on the same side?" Adrien asked.

"Nah," Alya replied easily. "It's more fun this way."

Adrien furrowed his brows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Alya said innocently as she pulled out a pen, ready for when Marinette passed the project over to her. Nino rolled his eyes but didn't say anything to dispute her.

Marinette bit her lips, flipping open the project before her to the first page. This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

 _I can't believe you sat next to him for a whole hour and nothing happened._

Marinette fought back a smile, rolling onto her back as she typed out a reply.

 _What did you want me to do? Sit on his lap?_

Alya's reply came almost instantly. _Yes._

She let out a snort. The rest of the group's visit to Adrien's house was relatively uneventful, whether that was good or bad, she didn't know yet. Other than the occasional blush from the model coming a little too close and her stuttering whenever he looked directly at her, it was a normal group work session. As Natalie wanted, they had left before dinner, which suited Alya fine as she had to go home to take care of her sisters tonight. Of course, Alya had spent the whole walk back chiding Marinette for not making any progress with Adrien as Nino gave increasingly ridiculous suggestions on how to get Adrien's attention.

 _Sorry I didn't cuddle up to him as we all were doing homework._

 _Apology accepted. Sorry again about your ankle btw. How is it?_

Marinette flexed her ankle. She had put one of her pillows under it as she laid on her bed, and frowned.

 _Not the worst it's been through. Dwai. Not your fault. It'll heal pretty quickly._

 _I feel bad though. I'll treat you to something next time. I heard this new cafe opened up, let's go next time you're free :)_

Marinette smiled. _Sure. We can go right after I win this year's game._

 _Ha, you wish. Aight, I gtg. My sisters need someone to supervise their bath. Night?_

 _Night, Al._

Marinette sat up, glancing at her screen to check the time. It was a little early to start patrol. Well, it would be a little early to start patrol if it weren't for her ankle. With a heavy sigh, she plugged in her phone to charge and scooted over to the edge of her bed. Tikki flew to her side, doing a quick circle around her before settling onto her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're ready for a patrol, Marinette?" The kwami asked, concerned. "Maybe you should tell Chat Noir that you're injured…"

Marinette shook her head. "I'm okay. It doesn't really hurt that much anymore. I can do it."

The kwami looked doubtful. "Are you sure?"

She smiled. "Don't worry. If I feel too strained, I'll end the patrol early. Are you ready?"

Tikki nodded.

"Tikki, spots on!"

* * *

Chat landed silently in a crouch on the rooftop corner and smirked. No moonlight to give his position away and he was extra careful to make sure that all his landings were perfectly silent beginning a dozen blocks away. To top it all off, he had never tried to surprise her from this angle before. He was almost positive that he would catch her off guard this time. His lady was amazing, but she can't catch him _every_ time. He could almost imagine the look on her face already. He peered over to the adjacent building where their usual meeting point was. Then he stood up with a frown.

That was strange. His lady wasn't anywhere in sight. Ladybug always sat in the same spot after patrols, a self-put "handicap" for him after she realized that he was always trying to catch her off guard after patrols. Was she late? Even when she had run into small situations during her patrol, almost always still finished before he did. An akuma? No, she would have called him if that was the case.

He looked around himself, scanning the area for any sight of her approaching figure, but saw no one. Taking a leap, he nimbly landed on the rooftop where they usually meet.

"My lady?" He called out cautiously. He took a few steps towards the edge of the building. An empty overturned plastic plant pot laid inconspicuously next to the edge. He turned it over.

"Her bag's here," he murmured, setting the pot aside as he opened the bag. He caught a faint whiff of hot chocolate as he spotted the thermos inside. Late, then. This was unusual. The last time that Ladybug was late was when she found a group of runaway children and had to return each of them to their houses and explain to their parents what had happened.

He heard a thud behind him and turned around just in time to see Ladybug righting herself from her landing, a grimace on her face.

"My lady! Purrfect timing, I was just wondering about you," Chat said with a grin. "What kept you, bugaboo?"

"Nothing in particular," she replied, making her way towards him. It was then that he noticed that she was limping, favoring her right foot over her left. His smile slid off his face, immediately being replaced with concern.

"Ladybug, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she sighed as she sat down in her usual spot. He took a seat next to her and handed her the bag.

"What happened out there?" He gestured to her foot. "Catfight?"

Ladybug shook her head. "No, this isn't from patrol. I fell earlier."

He frowned. Ladybug? Falling? The idea was almost laughable to him. "You _fell_? Did someone push you? Are you sure you're okay?"

She gave a wry smile. "I'm fine. I only twisted my ankle a little bit. I'll be fine. I can walk." She paused. "With a limp," she added. She dug out the thermos from her bag and, pulling out two cups, began pouring them cups of steaming hot chocolate.

Her words seemed to echo something in Chat's memory, but he shook off the feeling. "I can't believe you did patrol with a twisted ankle. Why didn't you tell me? I could have done patrol myself tonight."

She smiled, handing him his cup. "You also have school tomorrow too, right? It wouldn't be fair."

"But—"

"No buts. I already did patrol so it's too late to change anything now," she said, taking a sip from her own cup. Chat pouted but did the same.

"I didn't take you for the type to fall."

Ladybug laughed. "I'm a lot different as a civilian in some ways. I'm a bit clumsy. I was bound to get injured."

"Well, still, I can't believe…" Chat's voice fell away. He frowned. "Wait, what did you say?"

"What?" Ladybug asked, confused. "I said I'm a lot different as a civilian. I was bound to get injured cause I'm pretty clumsy sometimes. Why?"

 _"Don't worry about it, Alya. You know how clumsy I am. I was bound to get injured. It's been like what, a week since my last accident?" She joked._

 _"I can walk," she confirmed, wincing as she put weight on her left foot again. "With a limp."_

Chat narrowed his eyes. Could it be?

"Hello? Earth to Chat?" Ladybug waved her hand in front of his face. "Are you okay?"

"You...twisted your ankle today?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?" She gave him a curious look. "What's up?"

Chat opened his mouth. It couldn't be. There was no way that he was in the same class as his lady. Heck, there was no way that she sat _right behind him_. Right?

"I—" He shook his head. No, even if this was Marinette, he can't just confront her. Ladybug had finally started getting more comfortable with talking to him about things in her life. Confronting her now would almost certainly result in reversing all that progress. She'd deny it for sure and find some way to throw him off. What he needed was to be subtle. He'd confront her about it when he was absolutely sure of it.

"Chat?"

He forced a smile. It came almost naturally, a perk of having to force one every day. "Sorry, I was just thinking. Should I be worried if you get injured so easily as a civilian? I don't have to come to your rescue during the day as well, do I?"

She grinned. "Excuse you, kitty. I believe I can handle myself. Besides, who was the one who accidentally locked himself in a building last week during patrol? I still don't know how you managed that."

"I can afford myself some carelessness. I have you as my partner after all." He took a sip, peering at her over the rim of his cup. "How different are you exactly as a civilian?"

"Well, I'm a little more clumsy for starters," she replied, making a face as she lifted up her left foot. "I usually don't twist something though."

"How did you twist it this time then?"

"A friend and I were careless," she said. Then she added, "It wasn't anyone's fault, really. It was just an unlucky accident."

"What, were you playing tag? Aren't you a bit old for that?" He asked teasingly.

"Mm, you could say that," she said vaguely. He pouted. He wasn't going to get any more information out of her. He knew enough about her already to know when she started to grow wary of his questions. That was fine by him; this was more than enough for tonight.

Chat stood, finishing the rest of his drink in a large gulp before feigning a yawn. "Well, I think I'm going to head back now, bugaboo," he said, stretching. "Gotta wake up early."

"Ah, alright." Ladybug slowly stood up as well, taking care to put as little weight as possible onto her left foot. She took his cup. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Chat nodded. "See you tomorrow." _In class_.

She smiled. "Goodnight, kitty."

"Night, bugaboo," he said, returning her smile with one of his own as he took out his baton.

He was definitely going to have to talk to his father tomorrow.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sooo… I got no excuse. Writer's block hit me** _ **hard**_ **. Tbh I just pumped this chapter out with not as much enthusiasm as I would have liked. But I've been meaning to at least try to finish these stories ever since a guest on a one-shot of mine recently left a review saying how she/he/they hope reviews still make me smile 2 years later, and you best believe that I still immediately open my email notifications of every new review I receive and smile :) Also, one of y'all hunted down my forgotten Tumblr and now I'm determined to finish this so that I can finish** _ **Ceramics Class**_ **afterward lol. I can feel the toll that my hiatus took on my writing skill, but I'm going to try to fix that before Animal Crossing Switch comes out and takes over my life. Thank you to those who still read this!**


	6. Thursday

This was it. He'd gotten her schedule from a friend. Her movements, her habits, he had painstakingly studied all of them from afar, staying just out of sight for the most part.

Jean tightened his hold on his straw as he casually stood waiting just out of sight by the stairs in the courtyard. This was actually the furthest he'd gotten in the game. He got lucky this year, even luckier than that year when he got that artist as his target. His buddy eventually became his assassin and Jean had pulled a favor that his buddy owed him. He was planning on waiting the game out longer since his target seemed to be getting quite a few targets of her own, but that had changed when his assassin changed.

He checked his phone. Alya should be showing up soon. The girl had been coming to school early around the same time every day this week, and always through the same way. He stood just behind a corner, ready to make his kill as soon as she—

A sharp prick at the back of his neck caused him to jump, nearly dropping his straw in the process.

"What the—" Jean spun around, his hand automatically reaching for his neck and cold dread settled in his stomach. His eyes widened when he realized what had happened. "Did you just…"

The person in front of him smiled, holding out their hand expectantly.

Letting out a low curse, Jean reached into his pocket, pulling out the slightly crumpled slip of paper with his target.

"I was doing so well this year too," he complained as he handed his assassin the paper.

"Sorry," his assassin apologized, taking the paper.

Jean sighed and shook his head. "Nah, it's cool. I did better than I thought I would anyways. Good luck with Alya."

"Alya?"

"Yeah, your new target. She should be coming by soon, by the way. You might wanna stick around if you're interested," Jean advised, jerking his head towards the way he was facing.

The person nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Marinette peeked around the corner of the corridor. Alya never came in from this way. Even if the girl had decided to look for Marinette in the classroom, she doubted that Alya would go this far out of her way this early in the morning.

After confirming that Alya wasn't anywhere in sight, Marinette tentatively took a step forward before scurrying over to her locker as fast as her left foot would allow her. Spinning her combination in, she yanked open her locker and pulled out her books for her first class. She paused long enough to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything and checked her phone. Alya might be at school by now; the girl had been coming early this whole week.

She absentmindedly closed her locker door. Maybe she could text Nino and ask him if he knows where Alya is right now.

"Hey, Marinette."

She let out a squeak, her face glowing red at the voice even before she could process who it was. She spun on her heels, noticing for the first time that Adrien was standing right next to her locker. Sweet cheese and rice, when on earth did he get there? Her locker was one of the last ones in the row next to the wall for crying out loud; was he hiding inside the adjacent locker? Why couldn't he walk up from the other side like a normal person?

"A-Adrien?"

He smiled. "Did I surprise you?"

Wordlessly, she nodded. His grin widened at her answer.

"Um, w-why are you at school? I mean, not that I don't know that you go here since we're in the same class and everything I think—I mean, I know—but why…?"

"Why I'm here so early?" He suggested. She nodded again.

He shrugged. "Playing the game, I guess. How about you? Still avoiding Alya?"

She was about to nod again but felt the move redundant. "Y-Yeah."

"Do you think you can escape her today with your ankle?" He asked, glancing down. He frowned as he did so. "It hasn't gotten worse, has it?"

Marinette quickly shook her head. "N-No, don't worry, it's fine! I mean, not fine, but it's, um, fine! Like, it's fine."

Adrien gave her an amused look. "So, it's fine?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"Well...do you still want help?"

"Help?" Marinette repeated, confused. "What do you mean?"

At this, Adrien looked away, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, I figured since your ankle is still hurt, I thought I could maybe help? Continue being your bodyguard and all that."

She blinked. "Really?"

"Only if you want me to of course," he hurriedly added. "Not that I don't think you can take care of yourself."

"I-I mean if you don't mind…" Marinette trailed off, a sudden thought stopping her. She frowned. "Wait, why?"

This time, Adrien looked confused. "Why? Why what?"

"A-Are you still in the game?"

Understanding dawned in Adrien's eyes as he realized what she was getting at. He smiled. "Do you think I'll betray you?"

Marinette flushed at his words. "N-No, of course not! I just mean...well…"

Adrien laughed. "It's alright. I get it. Yeah, I'm still in the game. You're not my target though. Alya's still in the game."

"Then why…?"

"I want to," he said simply. She blushed further and she looked away.

"W-Why?"

He shrugged. "No reason in particular," he said vaguely. Then he added, "I promise I'll warn you if you're my target. Is that okay?"

Marinette chewed on her bottom lip. Adrien? Offering to help her while he was still in the game? It almost seemed way too good to be true. Maybe it was. Sure, this was Adrien, and she seriously doubted that he would do something like outright betray her—he was just way too nice. There had to be another reason. Even she knew by now that these kinds of offers don't come by for free. What else could it be, other than getting her out of the game?

But it was true that help would be nice considering that she's handicapped for now—Ladybug or not, she wasn't sure how long she could escape Alya's attacks with her ankle like this. The best she could do is try and figure out his real motive and try not to get assassinated during the process.

"You promise?" she asked. He smiled and nodded.

"Of course. I swear."

* * *

I seriously can't find it

How on earth

Idkkkk Marinette passed the note back to Alya as soon as Ms. Bustier turned away again. It was the middle of class, a time that turned into a temporary truce period when both could rest from chasing and being chased, as the rules were clear on assassinating someone during active class time.

How the heck do you lose your target paper? And before you could check? Girl, seriously? Alya rolled her eyes but grinned as she passed the note.

I got distracted and just forgot to look… I think it's in my pants pocket from yesterday. I'll text my mom later to ask her to look…

Really?

A lot of things happened

Maybe you can ask Anna who the target was?

Marinette's eyes widened.

Alya, that's genius!

I know. Not that it will be any use since I'd have gotten you out by then. Alya passed the note back smugly.

Mhm. Sure

You'll see

yOu'Ll sEE

You are so lucky we still have another half hour of class

Marinette suppressed a giggle as she read the note but didn't move to reply. Alya, taking the hint, also reshifted her focus back to the lesson.

* * *

"Class dismiss—"

"Aha!" Alya lunged at Marinette with her straw, the tipped end coming dangerously close to the girl's shoulder as Marinette swiftly danced out of reach. She winced slightly as the reflex put a little more strain on her ankle that she had planned for, but grinned as Alya pouted at her. However, Marinette failed to grab her notebook as she moved, having been unable to put it away beforehand as she was furiously scribbling down last minute notes as class ended. Alya picked it up, dangling it teasingly.

"Hey Mari, forgetting something?"

Marinette grimaced. "I don't need it."

"Girl, our homework's in here."

"You wouldn't let me take a zero for this assignment, will you?" Marinette asked innocently. She casually looked around for ideas, and as she did so, Adrien caught her eye. He subtly nodded his head towards the door.

"Would you?" Alya countered. She placed the notebook on the table in front of her.

"I can't believe you two are still going at it," Nino said, shaking his head as he packed up the rest of his things. He headed towards the door. "Are we eating in the courtyard?"

"Sure." Marinette slowly edged her way towards the door. Alya watched her with a grin.

"You know that I can't promise you'll get this back without you coming to get it yourself, right?"

"You're taking my notebook hostage? I thought we were friends." She was at the door now, Nino having just left. Adrien hadn't moved since standing up from his seat, a fact that seemed to have gone unnoticed by Alya.

"There is no friendship in war. Only betrayal."

Marinette feigned a hurt look. "Wow. I'm wounded." Then she slipped out the door.

As soon as she was out of sight, she began hurrying as fast as she could towards Anna's classroom, hoping that the other girl hadn't left the room for lunch yet. It wasn't even a few seconds after she left that she heard Alya's yelp of surprise from the classroom behind her. Adrien caught up with her just as she neared Anna's classroom with her notebook in hand.

They quickly turned a corner, out of sight of their own classroom.

"Where are we going?" Adrien asked, easily keeping up with her pace. Her ankle was a lot more bearable today thankfully, but it was still a hindrance on her usual speed nonetheless.

"Um, my last target's classroom."

Adrien frowned. "Why?"

Marinette blushed. "I, um, kinda lost my target paper?"

"Oh. Wait, but you don't need it, do you? As long as you remember who your target is."

"I kinda...forgot to look at it?"

"...What?" Then, "How?"

"I got distracted and then I forgot," she said abashedly, her face red. They slowed and came to a stop in front of a classroom and peeked inside. Luckily, both Anna and Irene were still inside, packing the last of their belongings into their backpack like most of their classmates. Their teacher must have ended late.

The pair slipped inside the room, Adrien staying near the door as Marinette hurried towards the girls.

"Anna!"

Both Anna and Irene looked up at the same time, matching surprise on their faces as they recognized Marinette.

"Oh hey, um, you," Anna said with a smile.

"Marinette," Irene said, elbowing Anna playfully. Anna's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah! Hey, Marinette. What's up?"

"I kinda have a problem," Marinette confessed. "I sorta lost the paper with the target on it."

Anna blinked, not quite comprehending the problem. "Can't you just tell your assassin who it is?"

"Oh no, I'm still in the game. I just forgot to look at who it was first?" Marinette trailed off, embarrassed.

Irene immediately burst into laughter at the confession as Anna poked her friend to stop, but couldn't help a smile of amusement of her own. "Really?"

"I know, I know, I just forgot and that whole thing with Nathaniel—"

Anna shook her head. "No, no, it's fine. I was surprised. It happened to everyone. It's just a little surprising cause I think you're in the same class as her."

"'Her'? I am?" Marinette immediately racked her brain, trying to remember who was still in the game.

"Yeah. You might have trouble with getting her though. Anna gave up after the first day of getting her as a target," Irene commented.

"It was hard!" Anna said, making a face.

"Who is it?" Marinette asked curiously.

"Just the most spoiled girl in the whole school," Irene said. Marinette's heart sank.

"Oh no. Is it…?"

Anna nodded, confirming her dread.

"Chloé Bourgeois. Good luck."

* * *

"I can't believe she's still in the game," Adrien said, leaning against the wall. Having finished his lunch much quicker than Marinette, he now kept a casual lookout as she finished her pastry. This wasn't too hard; Alya had retreated to the courtyard for the second half of their lunch period to join Nino. Game or no game, even Alya still needed to eat. Both Marinette and Adrien settled in just out of sight on the second floor with Adrien able to peek over to make sure that his friends were still there with just a crane of his head.

"Y-Yeah." Marinette swallowed the last of her bun, balling up the wrapper to throw away later. Truthfully, she didn't normally take so long to finish her lunch, but this was her first time eating alone with Adrien and had found it a little hard to not sneak peeks at the model who somehow managed to look breathtaking even as he ate. Meanwhile, she was trying her best to not look like a pig and was constantly trying to check if she had food stuck in her teeth whenever he wasn't looking.

"And she said that Chloe's hard to get? Why?"

She shrugged. "Er, she didn't really say."

"Maybe she's actually good at this game," Adrien suggested. Marinette grimaced. She doubted it. She had assumed that Chloe was long out of the game; her skills during gym were less than stellar on the rare occasions that she was forced to participate. If anything, the blonde was probably threatening her assassins or bribing people to protect her. Probably both.

"Maybe..."

"Do you want to try getting her out during lunch?" Adrien asked. "She seems like an easy target. We can probably get her out right now; I know where she eats."

Marinette frowned. It was a tempting idea. But it was unlikely for someone to make it this far into the game based on sheer luck. Knowing Chloe, there had to be a reason that she was still in the game. Not to mention that she was certain that Chloe was interested in the main prize as well, and she didn't put it past the blonde to pull out all her dirty tricks in order to win.

She hadn't noticed anything in Chloe's behavior to indicate that she was still in the game. Truthfully, she had almost forgotten about Chloe during the game and didn't really pay attention to her specifically, but she was sure that she would have noticed if Chloe was doing anything elaborate like having an army or something protecting her. The only thing that Marinette could think of was Chloe threatening or bribing people.

"Ideally, we should figure out what she has up her sleeve first. Since this is Chloe we're talking about, she probably has some students helping her aside from Sabrina. The only thing we have to our advantage is the element of surprise," Marinette mused. "Anna mentioned that she tried already, so she probably knows that Anna was her assassin. I can try to casually approach her which might not be so hard since we're in the same class anyway. I also want to find out what she's been doing."

"So we're just going to just walk up to her?"

Marinette shook her head. "No, I'll walk up to her and figure out what kinds of defenses she has. We should assume she already knows that I'm her assassin. If we're right, it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"And if that fails, I can be your trump card," Adrien added.

She smiled. "Yeah." Assuming that he was still helping her by then. She still didn't have a clue about what he was up to yet.

* * *

"Don't even think about it, Marinette." Chloe stood with her arms crossed by her desk, having stood up the second Marinette took a step towards her. The handful of students already in the room watched them curiously.

She was right about Sabrina helping her; Marinette noticed Sabrina's eyes discreetly following her as soon as she entered the classroom. Adrien hadn't entered with her in order to lessen the suspicion of them working together in case they'd needed to plan for a second attack on Chloe, a precaution that turned out necessary. He was also standing on the lookout for Alya as their lunch period drew closer to an end.

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked innocently. She offered a smile, one that fooled not even herself as she took another step forward, causing Sabrina to stiffen, ready to throw herself at Marinette.

"You know what I mean. I wouldn't bother trying; I'm going to win this. You can look at the pictures of my photoshoot with Adrikins later," Chloe said smugly. She inspected her nails as she spoke as if bored of the situation. Then she looked at Marinette, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Did you really lose your target paper without even looking at it first? That's both sad and hilariously pathetic. Then again, what else can we expect from you?"

Marinette kept her face blank, refusing to give away any of the surprise she felt. If Chloe expected a reply, she didn't bother giving time for one as she continued, "I am surprised that you survived this long at all though. Not that you'll last much longer sitting next to your assassin. I guess even lady luck didn't want to be on your team, huh? Typical."

She scowled at Chloe."You won't be saying that after I kill you."

"Hm. Doubt it."

"Hey, Alya!" Adrien's casual greeting from the hall came just loud enough to alert Marinette, and she turned away from Chloe with contempt. She turned to make her way to the back of the classroom as Adrien distracted Alya outside. If her timing was right, Ms. Bustier would arrive soon and after that—

"Sabrina, grab her," Chloe ordered.

Marinette barely had time to react before the girl started coming towards her with outstretched arms. Marinette wasted no time in backing up the stairs, careful to not trip over her feet. She eyed Sabrina warily.

"Sabrina, I escaped you before. I can do it again," Marinette warned. The other girl's eyes narrowed at the reminder.

"That doesn't matter right now. All I have to do is keep you here until Alya comes in." Sabrina's voice was flat, almost robotic.

"Is this even allowed?" Marinette complained. She had her back to the classroom wall now and contemplated whether to make a right and try to get to Chloe or left and towards the door. The door didn't seem like a viable choice right now; she wasn't sure how long Adrien could hold Alya off. Sabrina would get to her long before she got to Chloe. The only real choice now was to bide for time.

"There isn't anything in the rules saying you can't have people help you," Chloe replied easily. She watched the two girls with obvious amusement. Marinette circled around behind Nathaniel, the artist having paused his drawing to watch the confrontation.

She glared at Chloe. "And you're okay if you win unfairly?"

"A win is a win," Chloe replied, unbothered. Sabrina was nearly at Marinette now, only a couple steps from the top. Marinette braced herself to make a run for it but stopped in surprise when Nathaniel stood up. He stood facing Sabrina, blocking the girl's direct path to Marinette.

Sabrina frowned, turning back to Chloe with an uncertain look on her face. Chloe crossed her arms.

"What, are you taking Marinette's side in this now? Sit down."

Nathaniel bit his lip, his expression wavering slightly as the blonde glared at him. But then his eyes narrowed. "This isn't really fair."

"Fair?" Chloe snorted. "Like you're one to talk. You helped me earlier, remember?"

"You bribed me," Nathaniel countered. "For information. Just like how you bribed other people. But this is going a little too far."

"Seriously? Since when did you grow a pair?" Chloe scoffed. "You're not even in the game anymore so this isn't even any of your business. Sabrina."

On cue, the other girl began advancing forward again. Nathaniel held out his arms, the action vaguely reminding Marinette of when he had done the same to stop Irene and Anna only the day before. He never had to actually grab Sabrina however, as Adrien, Alya, and Nino soon quickly entered, immediately followed by Ms. Bustier and a few other classmates rushing to class before the bell.

It wasn't until Ms. Bustier began speaking that Marinette and Sabrina returned to their seats and Nathaniel sat back down. The teacher only gave them a curious look for a brief moment before setting their books down, already accustomed to the standoffs between students during the game.

As Marinette took her place next to Alya, her friend grinned at her, an expression so unexpected that she stared back in confusion until the other girl looked away to begin opening her textbook. She frowned but quickly shook off the feeling as she turned away to open her own book. Whatever it was, she'd have to question Alya later.

* * *

The second the last bell rang, Marinette tensed, ready to spring away from Alya the moment the girl made her move. But it never came. Instead, Alya was nonchalantly packing up the last of her books into her bag, her straw nowhere in sight. When she noticed Marinette's confused expression, she smiled.

"Hey, ready to go?"

Marinette eyed her suspiciously, refusing to relax. Instead, she stood up, slowly backing away with her backpack slung over her shoulder already. She saw Sabrina start to head their way, no doubt ready to assist Alya the second she started to escape. Chloe stood expressionless in the corner, watching.

Alya feigned a hurt look. "What, you don't trust me?"

"No."

Alya laughed. "Relax, girl. I'm out already."

Marinette's eyes widened. Behind Alya, Sabrina stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"Yeah. Got out during lunch. You can ask Nino if you don't believe me," she said, gesturing towards Nino. The boy nodded in confirmation.

"What?" Chloe's voice rang with annoyance and disbelief from the other side of the classroom. "What do you mean you're out? Who on earth got you?"

"Uh, that's really none of your concern, Chloe," Alya said, rolling her eyes at the girl.

Chloe stomped her foot. "You were supposed to get Marinette! How can you not even do that before getting out?! She's injured! Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!"

"You're mad because this game isn't going according to your plan? Seriously dude?" Nino piped up, shaking his head. "Wow."

"Like you have any right to talk," Chloe shot back. "Didn't you lose like the second day? Pathetic."

"Annnd we're going. C'mon, Nino," Alya said, quickly circling around the tables to gently push Nino out the door before he could retort back. Marinette took a step backward as they passed, still wary of Alya's claim.

"Do you think she's telling the truth?" Adrien wondered. He stuck his head out of the room, looking both ways before turning to look at Marinette.

"I don't know…" Alya didn't seem like the type to play that dirty and get Nino to lie for her as well. Then again, lying wasn't exactly playing dirty.

"They're already heading out. She didn't seem to be trying to circle around and get you," he commented as Marinette cautiously made her way to the door as well. Adrien made way for her as she peeked outside for herself. It was true, Alya and Nino were already halfway to the stairs. Adrien stepped out first, double checking first before casually stepping out. After some hesitation, she followed.

The halls were nowhere near as chaotic as they were the first day of the week. More than half the school was already out. Those who survived through reckless behavior were few and far in between. She spotted a few who were obviously still in the game as they walked with their straws in their hands and a trusted friend as a lookout. One girl from across the hall pulled out her own straw and, as Marinette watched, suddenly spun on her heels and stabbed a boy she had just passed by, eliciting a yelp of surprise followed by curses.

Her gaze dropped. Adrien also held his straw loosely in his right hand, although it didn't seem like he was actively looking out for his target. If she didn't know better, she'd think that he was only holding it out of habit. Her own straw was tucked away in her jacket pocket, having no need for it at the moment with Chloe behind them. Still, she kept a lookout around them. Alya hadn't told her who her new assassin was surprising. In fact, she was confused about why Alya didn't mention this to her during class. She wasn't lying, was she?

She pulled out her phone.

Who got you out?

Ahead of her, she saw Alya pull out her own phone. The girl quickly typed a reply.

Some guy from our grade. He's probably new to the school; you might not know him.

When did he get you? How?

Near the end of lunch. It was really unexpected. I didn't even have time to react.

What does he look like?

Eh, kind of good looking? Model height. I wouldn't worry right now; according to what I've gathered, he usually goes straight home after school.

Marinette frowned. Alya wasn't giving details. Her suspicions on her friend lying about being out of the game might be right. For now, she'd have to keep her distance.

It wasn't long until they got to the front of the school. Nino waved goodbye before turning to head towards his house. Alya smiled at the pair as they caught up, although only Adrien walked within her reach as Marinette stayed a few feet behind.

"See you guys tomorrow. Don't die as soon as I'm not watching," Alya joked, giving her own wave. "I'll text you later girl, alright?"

"Bye, Alya," Marinette smiled genuinely, albeit warily. Alya turned, heading the opposite way Nino went.

"Wanna get going?" Adrien asked.

"U-Uh sure. Bye, Adrien," Marinette smiled at him, blushing. "Thank you for today."

Adrien smiled. "I'm walking you home."

"W-What?" Marinette flushed bright red, her heart skipping a beat at the unexpected statement. "W-Why?"

He shrugged. "I have time. You don't live far, right?"

"But—y-your driver," she helplessly gestured towards the street where his bodyguard usually parked only to find the limo gone.

He flashed her a grin. "I told him to wait for me in front of your bakery today."

"But—"

"Come on, let's get going," he said cheerfully, cutting her off. He started walking and she hurried to follow. She kept a couple of feet between them, however, fearing that she'd probably trip over her feet if she got too close. She doubted that he would try anything now after today, but if he did, at least she'd have a small amount of space to react.

"How's your ankle?"

"M-My ankle? What ankle?"

He looked over his shoulder, giving her a curious look. "Your twisted ankle?"

If her face could get any redder, she was certain it would have. "My ankle!"

He smiled amusedly. "Yes, your ankle. How is it?"

"Uh, great! I mean, not great, but, you know, good. I think. As good as an ankle gets, haha. Why are you walking me home again?" she asked. Her words tumbled over each other, and she winced in embarrassment. He laughed.

"It's only about a block. I feel better knowing that you get back safe."

"W-Why?" She was grateful that he wasn't facing her.

He paused, seeming to contemplate his answer briefly. "I feel like it," he answered. He gave another one of his model smiles. "I don't want you to get attacked on the way back."

"O-Oh."

They were almost at the bakery now, only a half block away. They continued the short walk without any additional conversation and the two settled into a somewhat awkward stretch of silence between them, one that Marinette was nonetheless grateful for as it gave her no further opportunities to word vomit. When they came to a stop at the front of the bakery, Adrien stood to the side, giving Marinette plenty of space to go inside. True to his word, Adrien's limo was parked directly outside of Marinette's bakery, the gruff mountain of a driver watching Adrien through the rolled down window of the front seat.

"Um, do you want to…?" Marinette gestured towards the shop, but Adrien shook his head and smiled politely.

"I have to get going. I'll see you later?" If Marinette didn't know better, she'd have said that he sounded a tad hopeful. But she ignored the thought, choosing to return his smile instead. Or, at least she tried to. What she managed felt more like a cross between a grimace and a smile, but if Adrien noticed, he didn't say comment on it.

"Y-Yeah. See you." She ducked her head as she replied, her face turning red once again, before hurrying into the store. Through the glass, she watched as Adrien turned and entered his ride, his driver wasting no time in driving off as soon as the door closed.

"Was that Adrien?" Her mom's voice came from directly behind her, and she jumped as she spun around.

"Mom! When did you get here?"

Sabine ignored her question. "Did he walk you home?" She asked, a beam on her face. "What a gentleman. You should have invited him in."

Marinette made a face, walking around to head to her room. "I did. He said he had to go."

"Do you want me to invite him next time instead? I can be very persuasive," Sabine said, walking back to the counter of the shop. Marinette groaned.

"I don't know if there's going to be a 'next time.'"

"Sure there will be. You're a very cute girl, you know. I'm sure all the boys will be falling at your feet soon. Not that you have eyes for any boys aside from Adrien," Sabine teased. She was well aware of her daughter's crush on Adrien, a fact that she used to tease Marinette with from time to time when Tom wasn't around. This was one of those times.

"Mom."

"Of course, they'll have to get your dad's approval, but we can worry about that later. We can always invite him to dinner. Do you think he likes Chinese food?"

"Mom!"

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late post; trying out a friend's suggestion where I write multiple chapters before posting. It made me realize I'm not sure if I like my ending so I've been trying to backtrack and change it lol.

So far on the plan I've laid out, this story is supposed to last exactly one week. The last chapter/day will be Sunday if anyone was wondering. Thank you for reading!


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